AUGUSTA (AP) – Months after Maine voters rejected restrictions on bear hunting, lawmakers held a hearing Thursday on a half dozen new bills to outlaw hunting tactics some critics consider unsportsmanlike and inhumane.

But in a new twist to the debate, supporters on Thursday offered a deal.

Maine Friends of Animals President Robert Fisk Jr. told the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife that if lawmakers support restricting both trapping and the use of hounds to hunt bear, his group will abandon future consideration of a referendum to ban baiting.

“We are neither radical nor unwilling to work with you,” Fisk, a former legislator who led last fall’s referendum campaign, said during a hearing packed by about 200 people at the Augusta Civic Center.

Fisk’s group said last fall’s referendum would have easily passed if the question had sought a ban on hounding and trapping, and had not included baiting.

The leader of the hunting group Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine called Fisk’s compromise offer “outrageous” and unacceptable.

SAM Executive Director George Smith also said it’s disrespectful to hunters to come back to the Legislature with bear-hunting restrictions so soon after voters said no to last fall’s proposals.

“You have 389,455 reasons to reject these bills,” said Smith, referring to the number of votes cast in November to reject the bear hunting restrictions.

The bills before the committee seek to prohibit the following:

• landowners from charging a fee for bear baiting

• bear baiting except in special circumstances such as to protect livestock

• hunting bears with dogs

• feeding bears in the wild (it does not apply to bear baiting)

• using a dog to hunt or pursue bear

• trapping bears except with the written permission of the state game commissioner.

Senate OKs bill to authorize free permits for centenarians

AUGUSTA (AP) – The state Senate had some good news Thursday for old-timers who hunt deer.

Good news, that is, for real old-timers.

Senators gave their final approval to a bill to authorize the state game commissioner to give free antlerless deer permits to residents who are 100 years of age or older.

Crossbow hunting measure receives preliminary approval

AUGUSTA (AP) – A bill that advanced Thursday would put Maine among the states that allow hunting with crossbows.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Stan Moody, D-Manchester, would allow using crossbows to hunt bear and deer during the regular seasons for those animals.

Crossbows could not be used to hunt deer during an expanded season, in expanded archery zones or in the muzzle-only deer season.

Moody’s bill received preliminary approval Thursday, but still faces additional House and Senate votes.

It would require a person to hold a valid big game hunting license to be eligible for a crossbow hunting license, and bar the use of pistol-type crossbows or crossbows with a draw weight of more than 200 pounds. Crossbow and archery hunting education would be required in order to get a crossbow license.

About a half dozen states allow crossbow hunting without special restrictions during archery season.

Some states have considered allowing crossbow hunting to increase revenues.