An Act Related To The Electronic Tagging Of Deer

Maine's LD 2217 requires the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to allow electronic registration for deer starting in 2027, replacing the current physical tagging process. The bill eliminates the $5 seal fee that hunters previously paid to register bears, deer, moose, and wild turkeys, while redirecting specific portions of deer registration and antlerless deer permit fees toward landowner-deer conflict management and predator control. It updates existing state statutes to clarify that electronic methods may satisfy traditional tagging requirements and adjusts the rules for how long unregistered game animals can be kept before processing.