Pat Carter suggested in a recent letter that the Humane Society of the United States was supported by public funds. However, on its Web site, the society indicates that it derives its income from donations and grants, not taxes. That means that organizations which favor the bear hunting nitiative and to which the society contributes, are not supported by tax dollars, either.

Carter believes that the society, of which I am not a member, would end all hunting and fishing in this country. A close look at the facts leads to a very different conclusion. For example, on Sept. 24, 2003, Wayne Pacelle, vice president of the Humane Society, wrote to one Maine newspaper stating “The HSUS has never instigated or backed any initiative in any state to restrict deer hunting, duck hunting, or small game hunting. And it’s an outright lie to say that the HSUS wants to ban fishing.”

The record bears him out. In Colorado, Oregon and Washington, where bear baiting has been banned, fair chase hunting increased, resulting in the sale of more game licenses and more revenue. Even though the society supported referendums in these states, not one was urged by the society to eliminate traditional hunting, nor is that being proposed here.

The goal instead is to end baiting, trapping and hounding of bears, joining in with many hunters who also find these brutal methods unfair and unworthy of the great state of Maine.

Don Loprieno, Bristol