The Feb. 15 edition of the Sun Journal included stories about Maine’s black bear debate. It promised dire consequences if the referendum passed. Bottom line, it’s all about the almighty dollar! Isn’t it always? It’s all about special interest groups. It’s about jobs, infrastructure supporting the hunting industry and about state officials staying in power (making sure the bread remains butter side up).

Jennifer Vashon states that since 1979, two-thirds of the bears killed in Maine are taken by non-residents. In Gov. Baldacci’s address to the the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, he cited his displeasure at “out-of-state forces trying to tell Maine how to manage its wildlife,” which incidentally wasn’t the case at all. Maine’s Citizens for Fair Bear Hunting merely reported what other states had discovered after banning these controversial practices.

Back to the issue at hand, it looks to me like out-of-staters are dictating Maine’s hunting laws. What do you think?

There’s not much more that can be said. One doesn’t expect a first-grader to understand calculus and you can’t expect much from those who enjoy killing bear and whose consciousness hasn’t been raised to the point where they find unfair means of killing them abhorrent.

Maine is more than a hunting club. We are thoughtful, caring people who can empathize with the pain of our bear and protect a beloved natural resource from unethical slaughter.

Pat Gunther Carter, Bethel