Comments on: Hunters Reminded To Keep Chronic Wasting Disease Out of Maine http://maineoutdoorstoday.com/blog/2009/11/hunters-reminded-to-keep-chronic-wasting-disease-out-of-maine/ Skinny Moose Media Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:01:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: downmaine http://maineoutdoorstoday.com/blog/2009/11/hunters-reminded-to-keep-chronic-wasting-disease-out-of-maine/comment-page-1/#comment-12578 downmaine Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:18 +0000 http://maineoutdoorstoday.com/blog/?p=1550#comment-12578 <EM>Keeping Chronic Wasting Disease out of Maine</EM>.. <STRONG>A great idea</STRONG> but the DIF&W is going about it all wrong for our bordering neighbors to the North and mostly to our South, New Hampshire. There are no issues with New Hampshire having recorded CWD outbreaks, so why even include that State? Cervid animals walk freely in and out of both N.H. and Canada borders, animals legally harvested in neighboring States are quite often shot within a 2 hour drive of Maine's borders, many deer in my area get harvested in Maine, but the deer just walked out of N.H.. The DIF&W has placed this law onto sportsman that travel, often times for day hunt from their homes. I live in North Berwick, one town in from the N.H. border. This law requires that when I shoot a deer in N.H. in the last few minutes of daylight, that I must locate a tagging station in N.H., then locate a deer processing facility or process this animal beside the road, before I can return to my home, 20 minutes away.  Then I have to return to N.H. when he butcher calls and tells me the meat has all been deboned.   Maine has a large & long border, about 200 miles (about a 4 hour drive), with N.H., I am not the only one with this concern. Many thousands of Maine residents live within a one hour drive of N.H., allowing sportsman a great opportunity to hunt both States, and allowing the Mon-Fri working person the opportunity to hunt Sat and Sunday's, where Maine currently is still in the dark ages about Sunday hunting.  The DIF&W refuses to take responsibility and create a Cervid Rendering license, that would give game processors, in Maine, the proper education of disposal of ALL cervid animal remains, and not just those remains from out of State!  Creating a licensing process for butchers that would be responsible for proper disposal of ALL cervid parts, (such as incineration) would be a lot more intelligent an idea, than the DIF&W making a law such as they have recently added here in Maine!  All the DIF&W is doing, is creating another way to fine the sportsman and increase their budget revenues, and turning what normally is an honest person that learned how to process their deer in their own homes, a dishonest person! Because... many hunters that hunt in New Hampshire that live in Maine, will break this law! They will drive home after dark, process their deer, put the meat in the freezer, and take a midnight ride on some back road in MAINE and dump all the remains the DIF&W does not want in this State for CWD reasons, on your property. Does this make sense that our DIF&W does not realize that they are not preventing CWD from entering Maine by not dealing with it responsibly! Making laws is the DIF&W's "lazy" way of dealing with a real threat here in Maine, a disaster if CWD makes it to Maine. Wardens trying to enforce this law up and down NH's and Maine's border from the Atlantic ocean to Canada, will be wasting sportsman's money with their time and efforts. But, investing in a solid plan for proper disposal of all cervid animal parts, is a far better solution than another stronghold law tactic brought on by the people we count on to do the right thing with our money, it is no wonder many sportsman have lost their respect for Maine's DIF&W and it's Warden Service.  Where will the funds come from to create a license division for cervid rendering?  From the money saved by the DIF&W in not mailing out AnyDeer Permits, no stamps, no printing costs, by using the internet instead of all that prior manpower. Or how about from the newly raised fee for tagging a turkey of $5 or tagging a deer for $5, up from $1-2 since last year. If we are going to have to pay fees to tag our game, than why can't the DIF&W use those funds to insure CWD does not enter Maine?   Steve Beckwith North Berwick, Maine <a href="http://mainehunters.com" rel="nofollow">http://mainehunters.com</A> Keeping Chronic Wasting Disease out of Maine.. A great
idea but the DIF&W is going about it all wrong for our
bordering neighbors to the North and mostly to our South, New Hampshire. There
are no issues with New Hampshire having recorded CWD outbreaks, so why even
include that State? Cervid animals walk freely in and out of both N.H. and
Canada borders, animals legally harvested in neighboring States are quite often
shot within a 2 hour drive of Maine’s borders, many deer in my area get
harvested in Maine, but the deer just walked out of N.H.. The DIF&W has
placed this law onto sportsman that travel, often times for day hunt from their
homes. I live in North Berwick, one town in from the N.H. border. This law
requires that when I shoot a deer in N.H. in the last few minutes of daylight,
that I must locate a tagging station in N.H., then locate a deer processing
facility or process this animal beside the road, before I can return to my home,
20 minutes away.  Then I have to return to N.H. when he butcher calls and
tells me the meat has all been deboned.
 
Maine has a large & long border, about 200 miles (about a 4 hour
drive), with N.H., I am not the only one with this concern. Many thousands
of Maine residents live within a one hour drive of N.H., allowing sportsman a
great opportunity to hunt both States, and allowing the Mon-Fri working person
the opportunity to hunt Sat and Sunday’s, where Maine currently is still in the
dark ages about Sunday hunting. 
The DIF&W refuses to take responsibility and create a Cervid
Rendering license, that would give game processors, in Maine, the proper
education of disposal of ALL cervid animal remains, and not just those
remains from out of State!  Creating a licensing process for butchers
that would be responsible for proper disposal of ALL cervid parts, (such as
incineration) would be a lot more intelligent an idea, than the DIF&W
making a law such as they have recently added here in Maine!  All the
DIF&W is doing, is creating another way to fine the sportsman and increase
their budget revenues, and turning what normally is an honest person that
learned how to process their deer in their own homes, a dishonest person!
Because… many hunters that hunt in New Hampshire that live in Maine, will
break this law! They will drive home after dark, process their deer, put the
meat in the freezer, and take a midnight ride on some back road in MAINE and
dump all the remains the DIF&W does not want in this State for CWD reasons,
on your property. Does this make sense that our DIF&W does not realize that
they are not preventing CWD from entering Maine by not dealing with it
responsibly! Making laws is the DIF&W’s “lazy” way of dealing with a real
threat here in Maine, a disaster if CWD makes it to Maine. Wardens trying to
enforce this law up and down NH’s and Maine’s border from the Atlantic ocean to
Canada, will be wasting sportsman’s money with their time and efforts. But,
investing in a solid plan for proper disposal of all cervid animal parts, is a
far better solution than another stronghold law tactic brought on by the people
we count on to do the right thing with our money, it is no wonder many sportsman
have lost their respect for Maine’s DIF&W and it’s Warden Service. 

Where will the funds come from to create a license division for cervid
rendering?  From the money saved by the DIF&W in not mailing out
AnyDeer Permits, no stamps, no printing costs, by using the internet
instead of all that prior manpower. Or how about from the newly raised fee for
tagging a turkey of $5 or tagging a deer for $5, up from $1-2 since last year.
If we are going to have to pay fees to tag our game, than why can’t the
DIF&W use those funds to insure CWD does not enter Maine?
 
Steve Beckwith
North Berwick, Maine
http://mainehunters.com

]]>