NJ hunters, beware that the antis are already mustering their troops. If you're in favor of the hunt--or at least in favor of "local rule" by letting the folks living in Bear Country in Sussex decide their fate instead of the Soccer Moms in Montclair and Princeton--consider showing up. Or call McGreevy and tell him you're in favor of the hunt: 609-292-6000.
Sounds Racist to me.
Al Sharpton
F* Montclair.
I am in Sussex County and opposed to the bear hunt. I agree with you that locals should decide.
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.
