Maine to develop pilot program for electronic tagging of deer under new law from Sen. Bailey 

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, September 24, a new law from Sen. Donna Bailey, D-Saco, took effect. LD 139, “Resolve, Directing the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to Establish a Pilot Program for the Electronic Tagging of Deer,” seeks to promote and modernize deer hunting in Maine. The law directs the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to establish a pilot program for the electronic tagging of deer in Maine.  

“Each year, I look forward to hearing from deer hunters across the district,” said Sen. Bailey. “Deer hunting is a tradition that preserves our heritage and promotes the outdoors, in addition to helping folks put food on the table and fill their freezers for the winter. For these reasons, I am grateful that my constituent, Roger, asked me to work on this bill. Allowing for the electronic tagging of deer can ensure that hunting is accessible and available to the hunters of today and tomorrow.” 

Earlier this year, Sen. Bailey introduced the legislation at the request of a Saco constituent, Roger Chisholm. In his written testimony, Chisholm wrote, “I believe it’s time to offer hunters the option of tagging deer electronically, [i]n whatever form this needs to be in order for biologists to still attain their needed info. Whether that offers restricted days to register deer electronically, or restricted zones if needed. This is a strong option, particularly in southern Maine.” 

In addition to Chisholm, Nate Webb, the Wildlife Division Director at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, offered testimony in support of the bill: “The Department has made significant efforts over the past few years to modernize our registration system, including collecting data through a web-based form and providing real-time information on harvest levels on our website,” Webb wrote. “The Department recognizes that many hunters would experience benefits from a self-reporting tool for deer and the Department is generally supportive of developing a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of such a system.” 

According to Webb, most New England states, including neighboring New Hampshire, already offer the online registration of deer. If they choose this option, they are asked to provide all the same information online as they would if they were registering at a physical location.  

Maine already offers the online registration of turkey. After harvesting a turkey, a hunter may use a phone, computer, or other electronic device with an internet connection to register their harvest. Hunters may visit mefishwildlife.com/tagaturkey to self-register the turkey online. There is no fee to self-register a turkey online. 

In 2024, Maine had its second-highest deer harvest ever, with 42,258 deer killed.  

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will report back to the Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee no later than Jan. 14, 2026. 

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