But there is a prohibition against selling moose, for which Vermont has no hunting season, and wild rabbit, gray squirrel or game birds, in an effort to protect the species from commercial exploitation. Deer and bear meat can be sold during the hunting season and for 20 days after the season's close. Scott, education coordinator for Vermont's Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Laws governing the sale of game differ from state to state, and Vermont's are among the most liberal in New England, according to Mark E. The dinners enable hunters with a surfeit of game to share their wealth by selling or donating it to a church or club, and they allow those who returned from the woods empty handed to have a taste of what they missed. Suppers are traditionally held at the end of the hunting season - from late November to early December - and are a social event for hunters and nonhunters alike. Baker, director of research at Plimoth Plantation, in Plymouth, Mass., the Pilgrims supplied the wild fowl, their Indian guests brought the venison, and the meat was served boiled, roasted or stuffed into crusts, called coffins, and seasoned with nutmeg and cinnamon and mixed with fruit in the tradition of late Medieval cookery. The tradition is a long one, dating back to 1621 and the Pilgrim's harvest festival, now known as Thanksgiving.

IN churches and American Legion halls, in fire stations and community centers throughout New England, the curious and the carnivorous gather each autumn to partake of a time-honored rite: the wild-game supper.

Native game in new england