PORTLAND, Maine - Maine's bear hunters are getting ready for the season after withstanding a challenge to the way they hunt.
The Humane Society advocated for the elimination of hunting bears with dogs or traps. The bill died after a committee recommended in May that it shouldn't pass.
Passage would have taken away two of the three methods hunters use to take more than 90 percent of the bears harvested in Maine. The other method is bait, which is by far the most popular and accounts for about four-fifths of the hunt. A proposed ban of all three methods was also the subject of a failed ballot initiative in November.
The Humane Society hasn't ruled out further challenges. Hunters can place bait starting Aug. 1. Hunting starts Aug. 31.