New Jersey Council Approves Black Bear Hunt

Press Release by NJ FW ^ | April 9, 2003 | NJ Fish & Game Council

[gundog]

Fascinating. I was reading recently about how people like T Roosevelt wanted to ban the use of dogs in hunting deer, b/c the dogs drove the deer into water, which basically incapacitated the deer, making it too easy...thus violating "fair chase".

If I tried that in local terrain, I'd not see deer or dog until dog got tired and hungry and came home.

The point you are making in the bear context is one that actually is more in the spirit of "fair chase" and not harming cubs.

Trophy bear hunters like to give bears a good look, be it in a tree or over a baiting station(also now illegal in Oregon).

Is it correct to say, then, that the use of dogs in terms of hunting ethics must be decided on a case by case basis?

I know people that loved to chase bears with dogs...rarely shot anything...just loved running the hounds. All a matter of perspective...if you're anti-hunting, hunting anything by any method is bad, period. Some hunters will bad-mouth the use of dogs, some bad-mouth those that shoot does. Little divisions in the hunting world that are easily exploited by anti's. If the anti's knew the truth about losses due to wounding and poor trailing skills, they'd probably require the use of dogs...though I'm certain that they'd prefer to simply ban hunting.

I am not yet a big hunter, but it is not out of sympathy, it's really just a time issue. I am fascinated by it and believe passionately in conservation and hunting as a wildlife management tool. Therefore I ask a lot of questions.

Just don't let the anti's know that you're having fun...that's what really pisses 'em off.

[ConservativeDude]

screw the antis.

if we left wildlife up to them, there'd be no wildlife left for them to protect.

[Huck]

With the undecided being swayed by all those out-of-state PETA dollars, no doubt.

Well, local people are free to be influenced by whomever they choose. I am happy to be influenced by outsiders such as Mark Steyn, George Will, and Free Republic, to name a few. Bottom line for me is that I think it is appropriate for the county residents to decide. Personally, I am against the hunt. I'd love to have an opportunity to vote on it, and let the chips fall. I am not anti-hunting. I am in favor of IRKBA. I just don't want a bear hunt.

[gundog]

Fair enough,...but would you feel the same if George Will or Free Republic made their cases by showing Liberals squirming in leg-hold traps? OK,...so it's not a perfect analogy, but you get my point: when a majority is composed of the ill-informed and those that they can dupe, is the majority worthy of ruling? I don't hunt big game with dogs(prefer a bow for elk, rifle for blacktail) but I recognize a threat to my chosen methods of hunting when I see a threat to another. These are the divisions which the antis exploit.

[Coleus]

Cool!

[d-back]

Huck, if you don't mind me asking, why are you against the bear hunt? I hunt North Jersey (going for turkeys next week!) and I see bears all the time. There are too many bears for peaceful coexistence with the humans living in places like Sussex and even Morris and Passaic Counties. Why is it fair that a mother can't let her kids play in the backyard because of bears? Why should residents have to put up with bears in their garbage, bears in their garages, and bears damaging their beehives/livestock/pets? It's not like bears are big fluffy squirrels, either: black bears cause significant damage. And black bears can and do kill humans.

No one's suggesting that all bears be eliminated from Jersey, but the fact is that there is not enough habitat for the number of bears in the state. The answer: Hunt them to control their numbers, as man has hunted animals on this continent from time immemorial.

I love cougars too, but I don't want them in my backyard. (And just wait. . . they're coming, too.) As a conservative, Huck, you must realize that you are on the side of folks who have no true appreciation for the proper relationship between man and animal. That alone, I suggest, should make you want to take a critical look at your reasons for opposing the hunt.

[Eagles2003]

It's worse than just overpopulating NJ with bear. They've been migrating to PA and NY and causing problems over the borders.

There were a bunch of posts last year about the NJ bear problems.

Also, whoever posted about bear tasting good, it's not always the case. I never had bear but I've heard from multiple sources that some taste pretty bad. I also remember that they can have trichinosis like pigs, but I'm not sure that's a problem on this continent.

[Coleus]

There is a up to $500.00 (not to exceed ever $25,000) fine to any one that kills an 'endangered' fox, or upsets/touches certain turtle nest eggs along our shores. Under the detailed listings of the federal Endangered Species Act.

There is a $350.00 to $500.00 'amount due' to kill the human species. (AKA abortion) And in second/third human trimesters; scissors are jabbed into the HUMAN head and the brains are sucked out-In elective surgeries- daily, in the United States, all under the guise of a woman's "right." The only real "right" is the "right" to remain silent.

When will humans become "endangered" and protected?

When will the so called pro-"choicers" realize basic science skills of the food-chain? Human's are NOT at the bottom of the food-chain.

Do they really see what they do, with their political correctness all in the guise of a "woman's right"?

[Huck]

The hunt won't make mothers' children any safer than they are now (and they are very safe now.) As for the overall issue of control, I don't believe that hunting is the only option or the best option overall. I am not on the side of PETA. I favor management of our wildlife and habitat. I recognize man's place atop the food chain, and our burden, for lack of a better word, as stewards of the land.

My reason is real plain and simple: I like black bears. Personally, I would rather see them relocated. I don't think it's sporting to kill them. If the question is depopulation, I'd like to see them relocated. I don't believe I have an obligation as a NJ resident or a resident of bear country (just down the road from High Point) to enable hunters a shot at bagging a bear. I'm with you on realistic management and control, just not in favor of hunting as a solution for the simple reason that I find black bears to be innocent, likable creatures. It'd be worth it to me to explore some other way. Corny and sappy, I know. But there it is.

I would like to have the chance to vote on it, and let the chips fall. I don't think that would be unreasonable.

[FreeRadical]

Also, whoever posted about bear tasting good, it's not always the case. I never had bear but I've heard from multiple sources that some taste pretty bad. I also remember that they can have trichinosis like pigs, but I'm not sure that's a problem on this continent.

Yeah, bear meat can be all over the map. Omnivores are omnivores and that can mean gnarly meat. Brown/Grizzlie is pretty much unedible. (It is my understanding that some brown bear back straps are eaten by some peoples, but not a lot.) As for black bear meat, I have only had it in e.z. ways, like sausage or tacos or burgers, and all of it was very good.

Yes, the trichinosis thing is real and as far as I know easily defeated with proper cooking (ie attention to time above certain heat levels primarily).

BTW: A buddy and I are going glassin' for big blackies most every morning this week, wanna tag along?

[Eagles2003]

My BIL shot a bear once, and I think most of the meat got thrown out. Bear was a delicacy item at one restuarant where you could buy most anything.

Thanks for the offer, just watch you don't hit one with your vehichle. Two friends almost did. First was inspecting a customer's car and one ran across and came close to getting it. Normally, they don't have bear in this area.

Second was up in bear country, driving a van and came face to face with a bear standing up. That would have really totalled the front of a van. He missed, but doesn't know how, he was pretty shaken. Bear must have gotten out of the way.

If you get a permit hope you get one, their getting to be a real nuisance.

[FreeRadical]

Ooh, hitting one with a car does not sound like fun.

And, I should have been more disclosing: I am in Anchorage, Alaska. Hitting a moose with your car is the danger up here.

No permit is needed in season and if not over a bait station, just a residence hunting license. (Although all that is so convoluted it is unreal.)

Anyway, Happy Freeping.

[Eagles2003]

I'm back here in PA/MD area. We just have those little black bears, but they still can stand as tall as a van.

Hitting deer can kill people and they're a lot smaller than moose. We almost lost a woman coming to work one morning when a 250lb deer tried to jump over the hood of a small Honda, luckily it glanced off the top of the windshield and went over, not through.

My dad had a baseball game interrupted by a moose at Ft Richardson when he was there. They got out of the way fast!

Good luck and don't break down out where you can't be found.

[Coleus]

!

[Calpernia]

Update:

http://1010wins.com
NJ Approves First Bear Hunt in 33 Years
Jul 8, 2003 6:06 pm US/Eastern


State hunting regulators on Tuesday approved plans for New Jersey's first bear hunt in 33 years after a lopsided debate over the purpose of a hunt.

The Fish and Game Council vote was 8-1, nearly matching a vote in March that proposed the Dec. 8-13 hunt in response to increased bear-human encounters and complaints of bears raiding trash. One of the council's 11 members was absent Tuesday, and chairman Scott Ellis did not vote.

Jack Schrier, the lone dissenting vote, argued the hunt was for recreational purposes and won't end safety issues associated with bears.

The state plans to issue up to 10,000 permits to hunters who have completed a seminar on safety and how to target bear. The hunt would take place in Sussex, Warren, Passaic and Morris counties in the area north of Route 78 and west of Route 287. Hunters will be limited to one bear.

Out-of-state residents would be eligible for the permits, as long as they have valid New Jersey hunting licenses.

Three years ago, a hunt was scuttled at the 11th hour when then-Gov. Christine Todd Whitman intervened. She promoted awareness programs and bear conditioning, such as shooting the animals with rubber buckshots so they would associate trash-raiding with pain.

Bear hunting in New Jersey ceased in 1970, when the state's bear population had fallen below 100. Based on the findings of an independent review panel, the Department of Environmental Protection estimates there are now 1,300 to 3,200 bears in New Jersey, mostly in the northwest.

State policy is to kill any bears that pose a threat to people.

"I don't see how (a hunt) will reduce problem bear numbers. Those bears are being attended to properly," Schrier said. "They're being done away with; they're no longer a problem."

Council member George Howard said a hunt would not solve the bear problem, but it would stem year-to-year increases in the bruins' numbers.

Other council members agreed, saying now is the time to start thinning the bear population before public sentiment comes to consider the bears as nothing but pests.

Animal rights activists who have objected to the hunt skipped the game council meeting. Lynda Smith of the Bear Education and Resource Group said approval of the hunt was expected.

Her organization will probably ask Gov. James E. McGreevey to intervene. "A couple years ago he asked Governor Whitman to stop the hunt and now that he's governor he should do the same," Smith said.

Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, said his group doesn't oppose a hunt but believes the state has not developed a comprehensive plan to manage bears.

"Bears are a symbol that New Jersey still has wild places left. Getting rid of black bears makes it easier to sell condos to people from Brooklyn and Jersey City," he said

Bradley Campbell, the state's environmental commissioner, said appeals have already been made to McGreevey by those on both sides of the issue.

Campbell noted public comment submitted on the bear hunt favored it by a 3-1 margin. The commissioner said the hunt is just one portion of the state's bear-management plan.

The state is working on a bear contraceptive project and continues to promote bear-awareness and bear-conditioning, he said.

[Calpernia]

Ping for update

[Coleus]

I can't wait for some bear stew.

Man who shot bear near house charged by DEP
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/928120/posts
A hungry black bear barges in to kitchen
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/928135/posts?page=1
Plan to Attend the May 22 Fish & Wildlife Hearing on Black Bear Hunting
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/909379/posts
Bear Hunting In New Jersey
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/915469/posts
Bear swats Sparta, NJ toddler
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/915249/posts
Jersey Could End Bear Market (NJ lawmakers to give animal rights group $95,000 to end hunting)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/907309/posts
Bear Kills Infant In Upstate N.Y.
Bear Dragged 5-Month-Old Away From Summer Bungalow Colony
http://cbsnewyork.com/siteSearch/news_story_1364547158_html
One trapped in West Milford; another killed at Vernon home
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/928120/posts?page=27#27
God:

Genesis 9:3
Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.


Man:

Kill the humans (abortion) and save the Bears, the spotted owls and the whales and don't crack that turtle egg.

You can get fined up to $10,000 for messing with those eggs and baby-killing physicians get paid government and private money $$$ to kill humans! Go figure.

http://endangered.fws.gov/esa.html#Lnk11 http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html#Species
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/785378/posts

http://endangered.fws.gov/

The Endangered Species Act of 1973
http://endangered.fws.gov/esaall.pdf

Page 4 Sec 3 (c)(8) don't crack those eggs, one might end the "life" of a bird, fish or turtle. I guess certain "mammals" (humans) do not apply.

http://profs.lp.findlaw.com/endanger/endanger_6.html

The Govt. recognizes that a fertilized egg from an animal is "alive" and protected by LAW (The Endangered Species Act of 1973) and when in a human, in God's image, it's just a blob of "unlive" protoplasm which can be aspirated if it's the mother's "choice" to do so with no protections under the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.

[Calpernia]

>>>I can't wait for some bear stew.

You bag one, I will make it!

[d-back]

Thanks for the heads up! Looks like the animal nuts have lost this round, though as Montclair resident Yogi Berra says, it ain't over till it's over.

I guess it's time for me to go to ANJRPC's Cherry Ridge range to sight in my Mossberg 695 slug gun. Hope they let you take deer at the same time.

I know a spot near Sparta where there are tons of bears. Jersey Hunters bump!