Court to Hear Lawsuit About Bear Hunt

Maine's highest court is scheduled to hear arguments in a lawsuit between a hunting reform group and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife about a defeated proposal to change to the state's bear hunt.

Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting wanted to ban the use of bait, dogs and traps to hunt bears. Voters rejected the idea at the polls in November 2014 after the wildlife department campaigned against it.

The group sued the state before the election to prohibit the campaigning and maintains the state's campaign activities were illegal. The case reaches the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday.

A state superior court dismissed the lawsuit as moot after the election and Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting appealed.