Trail cameras allow hard-working miners to hunt successfully -Piscataquis Observer

By: Jared Bornstein The notion of “fair chase” has recently been raised by authors criticizing the use of trail cameras in a recent letter to the editor and column. “Fair chase” itself is the subjective opinion of some outdoorsmen, government officials, and others who seem to me to be bent on making life difficult for working-class hunters.

Jared Bornstein

The concept of “fair chase” has recently been raised by authors criticizing the use of trail cameras in recent letter to the editor and column. “Fair chase” itself is the subjective opinion of some outdoorsmen, government officials, and others who seem to me to be bent on making life difficult for working-class hunters.

The definition of “honest pursuit” varies greatly from state to state and even more from country to country. For example, fair chase in Maine means we don’t deer baithowever we bear baitand in many southern states they consider stalking deer and bear fair chase. Similarly, we have a a narrow set of species that here we are allowed to use hunting dogs, but in some countries in the progressive north of Europe they can basically use hunting dogs for everything. In some northern countries they even run moose with hounds. There is no standardized “fair chase” model, as much as some people would have you believe.

Fair chase as a model first mentioned by the Boone and Crockett Club, the kinds of “hunting” they sought to put an end to were things like driving deer into a lake and then beating them from boats. This was an attempt to combat commercial hunters and hunters who harvested too much game. Boone and Crockett Club mention: “Conservation was based on the fact that people need and will use natural resources, including wildlife, but that use must now be regulated and guided by science.”

So of course, if surveillance cameras are found to be the cause of anemic deer, elk and bear populations, ban them. However, none of these populations are of concern. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife successfully manages them through licenses and permits. In fact, Maine hunters repeatedly not enough purposes of deer harvesting.

In his letter, Jerry Stelmock says, “I believe that reliance on (surveillance cameras) to locate, track and ultimately kill game is an abuse by individuals who are supposed to ‘hunt’ for a living. Any game gained primarily through their use is an empty achievement…”

This argument is offensive to me. It’s also illogical and doesn’t take into account how difficult hunting is even with techniques designed to increase success. This argument ignores our working class miners who, because we don’t have a Sunday hunt, may only have four to six days a year to hunt deer with a gun.

Surveillance cameras keep these hard-working Miners in a safe place during the limited hours the staff and their work schedules allow them to hunt. It has nothing to do with laziness. In fact, I would argue that someone who works full-time at the mill, as a law enforcement officer or as a nurse, is a much harder worker than most other hunters who have the luxury of taking a week off during deer season.

The insulting words “empty achievement” when describing an animal captured by a trail camera is disparaging to the thousands of low-income Maine residents looking to supplement their diet with nature’s bounty this fall. In my experience, hunting is not a sport for most Maine hunters. It is a means to an end, and that end is quality protein derived from nature. When a hunter’s kids eat a belt, the nutrition in their bellies doesn’t go down because mom or dad knew it was a good hunting spot because of the trail camera. No, they are proud of their family’s ability to at least feign self-reliance at a time when we are completely dependent on corporate and government systems.

The only standard by which game should be managed is an objective biological standard, where the goals, methods, seasons and strategies of harvest are dictated by the needs and capabilities of the wildlife. Miners don’t need anyone’s opinion about their achievements.

Bornstein is a Democratic lobbyist, hunting supporter and registered Maine guide. He lives in Skowhegan.