PORTLAND, Maine — Maine's bear hunt is starting to wind down with the end of the season for chasing the big animals with trained dogs.
The season for hunting bears with dogs ends on Friday. It is the second-most popular method of hunting bears, after the much more popular use of bait. The baiting season ended on Sept. 26.
It's still legal to hunt bears without bait or dogs until Nov. 28. So-called "fair chase" hunting constitutes only a fraction of the bear hunt. Both methods were the subject of a referendum to ban bear hunting with bait, dogs and traps last year. The measure failed.
The hunting season began on Aug. 31.