CHAPTER 199
S.P. 168 - L.D. 587
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7501, as amended by PL 1981, c. 563, §1, is further amended to read:
§7501. Attacking domestic animals or destroying property
Except as provided in sections 7502 and 7504, any person may lawfully kill, or cause to be killed, any wild animal, night or day, found in the act of attacking, worrying or wounding that person's domestic animals or domestic birds or destroying that person's property. Any person who kills a wild animal by authority of this section shall report the incident to a game warden the Maine Warden Service as provided in section 7502, subsections 3 and 4.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §7502, as amended by PL 1981, c. 563, §2, is further amended to read:
§7502. Damage to crops or orchards
1. Permission to kill nuisance animals. Except as provided in section 7504, the cultivator, owner, mortgagee or keeper of any orchard or growing crop, except grass all types of grasses, clover and grain fields, or the owner or occupier of land on which such an orchard or crop are located, may take or kill deer or other wild animals night or day, when they the wild animals are doing substantial damage to located within the orchard or crop where substantial damage to the orchard or crop is occurring. For purposes of this section, corn shall is not be considered grain.
2. Employment of agents. That person may authorize a member of his immediate family or someone employed by him to take or kill those deer or other wild animals. When he employs someone not domiciled on the land where the damage is being done to take or kill the deer or other wild animals, he shall apply to the a game warden in charge of the district in which the orchard or crop are located for permission to employ such a person and shall obtain permission from the warden in writing. When a person wants to employ someone outside of that person's immediate family to take or kill wild animals, that person shall contact a game warden. If the warden is satisfied that substantial damage is occurring, the warden may arrange for a department agent to alleviate the damage, when an agent is not available, may authorize a person who is knowledgeable and can perform the work in a reasonable, safe and proficient manner. Permission to take or kill wild animals may not be granted to any person whose license to hunt has been revoked or suspended, who is an habitual violator as defined in section 7001, subsection 13-A or who has been convicted of night hunting within the past 5 years.
3. Report to Maine Warden Service; dressing of carcass. The person by whom or under whose direction the deer or other wild animal is wounded, taken or killed under this section shall:
A. Within 12 hours, report all the facts relative to the act to a game warden the Maine Warden Service, stating the time and place of the wounding, taking or killing; and
B. Immediately In all cases of deer, bear or moose, immediately and properly dress the carcass or carcasses and care for the meat.
4. Warden's certificate. The A game warden shall immediately investigate the case an incident under this section as soon as possible and, if he the game warden is satisfied that the deer or other wild animal was taken as provided in this section, he shall give the person who killed the deer or other wild animal a certificate of his finding in the matter. The certificate that entitles the person cultivator, owner, mortgagee or keeper of the orchard or growing crop to the ownership of own the carcass or carcasses, to be possessed and consumed only within the immediate family of the owner of the crops or the person who killed the deer or other wild animal cultivator, owner, mortgagee or keeper of the orchard or growing crop, or, in accordance with the labeling requirements for possession of deer, bear or moose, to transfer possession of those wild animals to another person. Any excess carcasses after the first 2 carcasses of deer, bear or moose killed or taken under subsection 1 or 2 must be distributed to recipients authorized through the Hunters for the Hungry Program established in section 7481 or as otherwise authorized by the game warden.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §7504, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 440, §11, is amended to read:
B. The commissioner may issue a permit to any licensed beekeeper, or to a person entrusted with the custody of the beehives of a licensed beekeeper, authorizing that person to protect beehives from damage by bear.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §7505, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4. Failure to report the wounding, taking or killing of a nuisance wild animal or properly care for carcass. A person is guilty of:
A. Failure to report the wounding, taking or killing of a wild animal if that person wounds, takes or kills a wild animal under section 7501 or 7502 and fails to report all the facts relative to the incident to the Maine Warden Service within 12 hours; and
B. Failure to care for the carcass and meat of a wild animal if that person kills a deer, bear or moose pursuant to section 7501 or 7502 and fails to immediately and properly dress the carcass and care for the meat to prevent spoilage.
Effective September 21, 2001, unless otherwise indicated.
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