I’m no stranger to the world of bear baiting. A few summers ago, my younger brother worked for the local big game preserve in our town. Attracting hunters from all over the country, the game ranch boasts bear, elk, buffalo, red stag, Russian boar, white tail deer, coyote, bobcat and moose. I would pick my brother up in the afternoon after I got home from work. He was the bait bucket boy. I don’t think he will ever be able to eat licorice or donuts again. The aforementioned sweets, as well as lard, were only some of the sticky treats used to lure bears. He would come home exhausted, sporting his knee-high rubber boots. The truck cab became an olfactory delight of a confectionary nature — I never wanted him to drive because of his sticky hands.

Whether an ardent outdoor enthusiast or a member of PETA, the controversy surrounding bear baiting persists. Between 1999 and 2002, bait hunters, dog hunters and trappers killed 3,337 bears in Maine — far below what is necessary to successfully control the population. The implementation of nonbaiting measures — such as increasing bag limits, introducing a spring season or even lengthening the season — have been entertained but never put into action. This is coupled with the fact that Maine’s dense forests and wetlands all but require the use of baiting in order to successfully get to the population. In 2002, baiting was responsible for 76.4 percent of Maine’s bear kills. According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, bear baiting is the most effective form of black bear population control in the state of Maine.

That being said, the act of bear baiting is a basic form of psychological conditioning, manipulated for sport. The idea of training a subject to solicit one spot, day after day, in order to obtain sustenance and enjoyment, and then mowing them down with triangulated hunting strategies, firearms and baying hounds is a touch one-sided.

This strategy is similar to a hit man’s assassination technique. Employ the bait and wait until the time is ripe.

This year, the general bear season is from Aug. 31 to Nov. 28. Hunting with bait starts Aug. 31 and ends Sept. 26. The real anticipation, however, is for the placing of bait — which is permitted 30 days before the official start of the season. I mean, the game has to be successfully conditioned prior to Aug. 31, otherwise it would be a complete waste of time. I know I would not want to bear the wrath of out-of-state hunters not getting what they want.

Not only are we interfering with the general ecosystem in bear baiting, but we are also altering the dependence of Maine’s black bears. The rationale behind population control derives, in part, from a dependence fostered by bear baiting. After the season ends, many hunters abandon baiting apparatuses and the bait goes rancid, to the surviving bear’s delight. Once these leftovers are gone, a bear will logically move to someone’s trash as the next best thing. This dependence is eventually punished—whether in the form of a wild animal’s decreased self-sufficiency or the game warden responding to a trash disruption. A psychological experiment with an inescapable ending — that’s what bear baiting is.

Madeline Glover hates sticky steering wheels.