Today, we find the official numbers of yesterday’s vote to Ought Not To Pass recommended by the Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Joint Standing Committee was 11 to 1. In yesterday’s post I stated that Rep. Eberle had stated in the session that I was listening into live that she was not going to support such a motion.
With such a one sided recommendation it should not last long in front of house and senate as well. However, you can bet that The Wildlife Alliance of Maine will not rest with this decision. In fact, the alliances spokesman Daryl Dejoy has already states that this representation from the committee does not show the majority of Mainers view on this issue. What does that mean? It means we will see this turn into a referendum where the people of Maine will get to vote on the issue of banning recreational trapping of bear. In a recent article Dejoy said:
The vote didn’t faze bill supporter Daryl DeJoy, who said the members of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee don’t represent the views of most Mainers. He thinks the House and Senate will feel differently.
“I’m pleased we have one representative on the committee who’s capable of making an informed and impartial decision,” said DeJoy, who leads the Wildlife Alliance of Maine, which works on behalf of wildlife and wildlife watchers.
We have not seen the last of this issue. It is important for us to continue to come together and form a strong alliance to keep all of the outdoor traditions in place. The only difference now is our focus changes from letting our representatives know how we feel to educating the voters of Maine. To educate them on the big picture which has nothing to do with trapping. It has more to do with a foot in the door to leading to a hunting, trapping, and fishing free state of Maine.
