Does hunting with hounds bring in significant revenue that is used to manage bears?
In 2002, there were 375 bears taken with the aide of hounds. The average hound hunt was $1,581 for those guides advertising their prices on the Internet. If we assume there were 1,462 hound hunters in 2002 and that all hound hunters were guided, up to $2,311,422 was generated for Maine’s economy last year. This income gets distributed through the community when guides purchase bait for attracting bears, veterinary care and food for their dogs, food and lodging for their clients, and other equipment purchases. Direct contributions to the Department come from sales of hunting licenses and bear permits. Again, If we assume there were 1,462 hound hunters in 2002 and that 702 (48%) and 760 (58%) of the bear permits were purchased by nonresidents and residents respectively, the total economic impact of hunting bears with hounds to the Department is estimated to be $138,740.
