AUGUSTA (AP) – Following a debate echoing many of the arguments heard before a 2004 referendum, a proposal to make bear trapping illegal in Maine was rejected Wednesday by the House of Representatives. The roll-call vote of 60 for the ban and 82 against it leaves the bill all but dead for the session. The House vote came as little surprise given an 11-1 vote by the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife against the measure.

Bear trapping opponents called the practice barbaric and unnecessary during a debate before Wednesday’s House vote.

“It is just wrong – we don’t need to do this,” said Rep. Robert Eaton, D-Sullivan. “It is barbaric, it’s archaic, and it needs to go.” Others expressed embarrassment that Maine remains the only state that allows recreational bear trapping.

Supporters of the ban also said trapping is rarely used, and that outlawing it would not inflict economic harm on Maine’s hunting industry as some have suggested. “It’s not a big part of the Maine economy,” said Rep. James Schatz, D-Blue Hill.

While the figure may not be huge, a ban would represent a loss of income for some Maine guides, said Rep. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash.

He and others opposing the ban called it a first step toward banning trapping altogether in Maine. “Personally, I feel it is an attack on hunting and trapping overall,” said Jackson. “If you are so against trapping, why aren’t you against trapping foxes, why aren’t you against trapping raccoons, why aren’t you against trapping lobsters?”

In 2004, voters defeated a proposal to outlaw bear trapping, as well as hunting bear with bait or hounds. In the meantime, the state fish and game department has outlawed the use of steel-jawed devices for bears, meaning trappers are restricted to snare-type foothold traps that are used by biologists and researchers, or to large cages that leave the animals unharmed.

If the latest legislation to outlaw bear trapping is killed, voters could be asked to decide on another initiated referendum. Supporters of the trap ban have said they will initiate another referendum if the measure is rejected by the Legislature.

The bill voted on Wednesday was sent to the Senate.

AP-ES-05-23-07 1158EDT

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