Hunters gearing up for bear hunt in New Jersey
July 2005
Time is running out for bears in New Jersey as authorities get closer to reinstating an annual bear hunt in the state. If approved, this year's hunt will take place in December. WSPA urges all of its members to send a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in NJ to protest this hunt. Letters must be received by August 5th so please take action today!
Why hunt bears?
Hunters and some politicians have been arguing for a hunt for many years to help combat a perceived overpopulation of bears in New Jersey and an increase in human-bear conflict. In 2003 they got their way when NJ held its first bear hunt in over 30 years. During the first two days of the six-day hunt, out of the 182 bears killed, 120 were found to be female. The high rate of kills among female bears could pose a threat to the future viability of black bears in the state. There is no evidence to show that the hunt had any impact on human-bear conflict.
Human-bearconflicts
Approximately 2.2 million residents of NJ live in bear country and as a result there have been some conflicts between bears and humans. However, as proven by previous hunts, randomly hunting bears will not alleviate these conflicts. There is no scientific evidence that a sport hunt will do anything to prevent these conflicts. The primary reason behind human-bear conflicts is the lure of human food and the smell of garbage. Tools exist to humanely solve most of these issues including bear proof garbage cans, aversive conditioning and educating the public on how to live among bears safely.
What you can do to help NJ bears
The NJ Game Code hearing was held in June but written comments are still being accepted through August 5th. Please take a moment to send your letter urging NJ's authorities to deny the reinstatement of a bear hunt and to take steps to implement humane methods of human-bear conflict control.
Send your letters to:
Martin McHugh, Director
Division of Fish and Wildlife
Department of Environmental Protection
P.O. Box 400
Trenton, NJ 08625-0400
Please send a copy of your letter to:
Acting Governor Codey
The State House
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Senator Corzine
One Gateway Center, 11th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102
New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance
P.O. Box 174
Englishtown, NJ 07726
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