Nuisance Wildlife Laws in Maine: What Every Property Owner Needs to Know

A raccoon raiding your trash every night, a beaver flooding your back field, or a bear knocking over your beehives — wildlife conflicts are a real part of life in Maine. The Pine Tree State is home to an extraordinary range of wild animals, and when they cross into your property and cause damage, knowing exactly what the law allows you to do is the difference between solving the problem legally and facing a criminal charge.

Maine’s nuisance wildlife rules are governed primarily by Title 12, Chapter 921 of the Maine Revised Statutes — Wildlife Causing Damage or Nuisance — and enforced by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW). The rules are more specific than many property owners realize, and the penalties for getting it wrong can be significant. This guide breaks down each layer of Maine’s nuisance wildlife framework so you can protect your property, your livestock, and yourself without running afoul of state law.

What Counts as Nuisance Wildlife in Maine

Maine does not publish a single statutory list of “nuisance species.” Instead, the law focuses on the behavior and the damage the animal is causing. Under Maine law, a person may lawfully kill, or cause to be killed, any wild animal or wild turkey, night or day, found in the act of attacking, worrying, or wounding that person’s domestic animals or domestic birds or destroying that person’s property. The key phrase is “in the act” — the animal must be actively causing harm at the time.

In practical terms, the animals most commonly involved in nuisance complaints across Maine include white-tailed deer damaging orchards and crops, beavers flooding roads and agricultural land, raccoons targeting sweet corn, bears raiding beehives and bird feeders, coyotes threatening livestock, porcupines girdling trees, and skunks denning under structures. Each of these species has its own set of rules, which are covered in the species-specific section below.

Some wildlife species are drawn to residential areas because they offer food, shelter, and safety from natural predators. Often well-intentioned people are unaware of the consequences of their actions that attract wildlife around their homes, properties, and surrounding landscape. Securing garbage cans, removing bird feeders during bear season, and eliminating brush piles near structures are all steps that reduce conflicts before they begin.

Your Rights as a Property Owner in Maine

The state holds all wildlife in trust and retains the right to manage stocks of those animals. That means you do not own the deer in your woodlot or the beaver in your pond — the state does — and your right to interfere with wildlife is limited to what the statutes specifically allow.

That said, Maine law does give you meaningful authority when an animal is actively causing damage. A person may lawfully kill, or cause to be killed, any wild animal or wild turkey, night or day, found in the act of attacking, worrying, or wounding that person’s domestic animals or domestic birds or destroying that person’s property. This right applies to the property owner as well as people acting on the owner’s behalf.

Crop and orchard owners have an additional layer of protection. The cultivator, owner, mortgagee, or keeper of an orchard or growing crop, except all types of grasses, clover, and grain fields, may take or kill wild animals or wild turkeys night or day when the wild animals or wild turkeys are located on or in the orchard or growing crop. This is a meaningful exception for Maine’s agricultural communities, where deer and turkey damage to orchards and vegetable fields is a recurring problem.

Pro Tip: Even when you have the legal right to kill a nuisance animal, you are still required to report the incident to the Maine Warden Service. Skipping that report step is itself a violation — keep the warden’s number accessible before a conflict arises.

A person who kills a wild animal or wild turkey by authority of this section shall report the incident to the Maine Warden Service as provided in section 12402, subsections 3 and 4. Failure to report is a separate civil violation, so document the incident and make that call promptly.

Legal Methods for Removing Nuisance Wildlife in Maine

Common humane removal techniques include live trapping and relocation, exclusion methods to prevent re-entry, and deterrents to encourage wildlife to leave on their own accord. Maine law permits all three general approaches, but trapping is the most regulated of the three.

Trapping techniques are regulated under Maine’s wildlife control laws to balance human-wildlife interactions effectively. Traps must meet certain standards to minimize harm to animals and ensure humane capture. Trappers are required to follow specific guidelines regarding trap placement, checking frequencies, and species-specific regulations.

One of the most important location-based restrictions involves trapping in populated areas. Trapping is only permitted within one-half of the built-up portion of a city or town with the use of cage-type live traps and drowning sets, unless trapping on property owned by the trapper. If you live in a suburban neighborhood and want to set a body-grip trap, you generally cannot do so legally — live cage traps are the appropriate tool in those settings.

Trap identification is mandatory. Each trap set must be clearly labeled with the trapper’s full name and address or MOSES ID. Exclusion methods — sealing entry points, installing chimney caps, adding hardware cloth around foundation gaps — require no permit and are often the most permanent solution for animals like squirrels, raccoons, and bats attempting to enter structures.

Removal Method	Permit Required?	Best Used For	Key Restriction
Live cage trapping	Generally yes (trapping license or ADC agent)	Raccoons, skunks, opossums, squirrels	Only cage traps allowed in built-up town areas
Lethal trapping	Yes (trapping license required)	Beavers, muskrats, coyotes, furbearers	Restricted in built-up areas; species-specific seasons apply
Exclusion/deterrents	No	Bats, squirrels, skunks under structures	Must not trap or injure animals during exclusion
Lethal take (active damage)	No permit for active attack, but must report	Animals actively attacking livestock or crops	Animal must be caught in the act; report to Warden Service required

Relocation Rules in Maine

Many property owners assume that catching a nuisance animal in a live trap and driving it to a nearby forest solves the problem legally. In Maine, that assumption can get you into trouble. In Maine, individuals seeking to remove nuisance wildlife are required to obtain Nuisance Wildlife Removal Permits. These permits are necessary to ensure that wildlife is dealt with in a safe and humane manner.

Permit requirements typically include demonstrating a clear understanding of humane removal techniques and providing evidence of the nuisance wildlife issue. Simply trapping an animal and releasing it elsewhere without authorization can constitute an unlawful take or transport of wildlife under Maine law.

Beaver relocation is particularly tightly managed. Except in emergency situations, no beaver will be removed within 30 days of the opening day of the beaver trapping season in that area. A list of locations where beaver have been removed within 30 days of the opening of the beaver trapping season will be maintained at regional offices. The rationale is to preserve trapping opportunity for licensed trappers during open season rather than having agents remove animals just before the season begins.

Every effort shall be made to minimize the out-of-season removal of problem beaver. This is accomplished by maintaining in-season trapping opportunity in problem areas and restricting the removal of beaver by an agent of MDIFW, a landowner, or a person acting on behalf of the landowner who has prior approval from the Department. If you have a beaver flooding your property, contact your MDIFW regional wildlife biologist before taking any action.

Important Note: Relocating a rabies-vector species — such as a raccoon, skunk, fox, or bat — across county lines is prohibited under Maine law. Transporting a potentially rabid animal can spread disease to new areas and creates serious public health and legal liability for you.

Species With Special Rules in Maine

Several of Maine’s most commonly encountered wildlife species carry rules that go well beyond the general nuisance framework. Before taking any action against the animals below, confirm the current rules with MDIFW, as seasons and commissioner-issued authorizations can change.

Beaver — Except as provided by commissioner authorization, a person may not take or kill beaver. In accordance with section 10105, subsection 1, the commissioner may at any time authorize a landowner, a person on behalf of the landowner, or an agent of the department to take or kill nuisance beaver. You need explicit MDIFW authorization before trapping or killing beaver on your property, even if they are actively flooding your land.

Deer — Whenever deer are doing damage to orchards and crops, including legumes but excepting grass, the department shall furnish to the owner or agent of the orchards and crops suitable repellants without cost to the owner or agent. The MDIFW also provides cost-sharing on fencing for young orchards in severe cases. Contact your regional biologist to access these resources before resorting to lethal control.

Bears — The commissioner may suspend the game laws relating to bears in such restricted localities and for such periods of time as the commissioner finds it advisable to relieve excessive damage being done by bears to sweet corn or other crops. Outside of those commissioner-declared suspensions, bears are subject to normal hunting season restrictions. Killing a bear out of season without authorization is a serious violation.

Raccoons and Muskrats — The commissioner may suspend the game laws relating to raccoons in such restricted localities and for such periods of time as the commissioner finds it advisable to relieve excessive damage being done by raccoons to sweet corn or other crops. For muskrats, the commissioner may declare an open season on muskrats that are polluting water supplies or damaging property if the owner makes a written complaint to that effect to the commissioner.

Canada Lynx and Bald Eagle — The state of Maine considers certain animals, like the Canada lynx and the bald eagle, as protected due to their vulnerable status. The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is listed as a threatened species under both Maine law and the federal Endangered Species Act, meaning any intentional take — including accidental capture in traps — carries serious criminal exposure. If you catch a lynx incidentally, any other furbearing animal caught incidentally in fox and coyote traps must be released alive immediately, except lynx — contact a game warden immediately for instructions. The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a delisted state species but remains protected under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. A first offense under the federal eagle act carries up to a $5,000 fine, one year in prison, or both.

Wild Birds — A person may not take or kill wild birds, with the exception of rock doves and wild turkeys under sections 12401 and 12402. This means songbirds, raptors, and most other birds nesting on or near your property are off-limits regardless of the nuisance they cause. Contact MDIFW or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for depredation permits if migratory birds are causing significant damage.

For comparison on how neighboring states handle similar species conflicts, see how New York approaches nuisance wildlife laws or review the rules in New Jersey, where species-specific permit structures differ significantly from Maine’s commissioner-authorization model.

When You Need a Licensed Wildlife Control Operator in Maine

Maine does not use the term “wildlife control operator” in the same way many other states do. Instead, the state operates through a system of Animal Damage Control (ADC) Agents — licensed individuals certified by MDIFW to handle nuisance wildlife conflicts on behalf of the public.

An ADC Agent is a trained individual who is certified by the Department as an Agent of the Commissioner to provide assistance in resolving human/wildlife conflicts with the public following Departmental policies and guidance. These agents work under the direction of regional wildlife biologists and district game wardens, and they have authority to take actions that ordinary property owners cannot.

Animal Damage Control Agents are needed to address a variety of nuisance wildlife complaints that are too numerous for Department staff to respond to. You should contact an ADC Agent or your MDIFW regional office when:

• You need to trap and relocate a species that requires a permit (beaver, bear, certain furbearers)
• The animal involved is a protected or threatened species
• The conflict is ongoing and your own deterrent efforts have failed
• You need to trap in a built-up area where standard trapping is restricted
• You want professional exclusion work done on a structure

ADC Agents must maintain a clear criminal record, have a courteous working relationship with the public and MDIFW staff, hold an annual trapping license, and renew their ADC license every three years. To find a certified ADC Agent in your area, contact the MDIFW Living with Wildlife program.

An ADC Agent is expected to understand that not every complaint warrants action against wildlife. “Living with Wildlife” is the model communicated and followed, demonstrating to the public that the primary objective is to coexist with wildlife and not have an expectation of removal out of occasional inconvenience. If your situation is a genuine property damage or safety concern, agents have the tools and authority to help. If it is a minor annoyance, they may recommend non-lethal deterrents first.

Property owners in other states can find parallel guidance through our articles on nuisance wildlife laws in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin — all states with comparable northern forest wildlife conflicts.

Penalties for Violating Nuisance Wildlife Laws in Maine

Maine’s penalty structure for wildlife violations ranges from civil fines to criminal charges, depending on the nature and severity of the offense. Violating wildlife laws in Maine can result in significant legal penalties and repercussions. The state enforces these laws to protect its diverse wildlife and maintain ecological balance.

The most common baseline penalty for nuisance-related violations is a civil fine. A person who violates certain paragraphs of Maine wildlife law commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500 may be adjudged. These civil violations escalate quickly for repeat offenders: a person who violates this paragraph after having been adjudicated as having committed 3 or more civil violations under this Part within the previous 5-year period commits a Class E crime.

Violations involving protected species carry steeper consequences. Under Maine’s endangered and threatened species statutes, hunting, taking, trapping, or possessing any endangered or threatened species within the State is a Class E crime. Possessing, processing, selling, offering for sale, delivering, carrying, transporting, or shipping any endangered or threatened species or any part of one is also a Class E crime. More serious intentional violations involving those species are charged as Class D crimes.

Beaver-specific violations carry their own criminal exposure. A person who violates the beaver subsection commits a Class E crime. Similarly, a person who takes or kills wild birds in violation of the prohibition commits a Class E crime.

Beyond the state-level penalties, federal law adds another layer when protected birds are involved. The penalties for violating federal wildlife conservation laws range from civil fines under $2,000 for minor infractions to criminal sentences of up to five years in federal prison for large-scale trafficking. Because multiple statutes often apply to the same animal or activity, a single illegal act can trigger enforcement under several laws at once, each with its own penalty structure.

The collateral consequences matter too. A wildlife violation on one’s record can lead to difficulties in obtaining hunting licenses or permits in the future. An individual convicted of disturbing traps will lose any license in effect and be ineligible to purchase any license issued by the Department for 3 years. For hunters and trappers, that license revocation is often a more painful consequence than the fine itself.

Key Takeaway: When in doubt, call before you act. Reaching out to your MDIFW district game warden or regional wildlife biologist costs nothing and protects you from violations that are far more expensive to resolve after the fact.

Understanding how Maine’s rules compare to other states can help you put the framework in context. See our guides on nuisance wildlife laws in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia for a broader regional picture. Maine’s commissioner-authorization model for species like beaver and bear is more centralized than many neighboring states, so the process of getting formal approval matters more here than it might elsewhere.

Maine’s approach to nuisance wildlife ultimately reflects the state’s deep conservation ethic. The laws are designed to give property owners real tools to protect their land and livestock while keeping the state’s wildlife populations healthy and its ecosystems intact. Working within that framework — rather than around it — is both the legal path and, in most cases, the most effective one.