Bear hunting season approved in New Jersey
U.S. Sportsmen' s Alliance — July 8, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The New Jersey Fish and Game Council today approved a black bear hunting season. Support from New Jersey sportsmen, initiated by calls to action from the U.S. Sportsmen' s Alliance and other sportsmen' s organizations, encouraged the New Jersey Fish and Game Council to pass the black bear hunt by a vote of nine to one.
The hunt, planned for December 8-13, is needed to help control the rapidly growing bear population, which is two to three times larger than the habitat can withstand. Human/bear incidents and property destruction have increased in recent years to a level that warranted action by the council.
Animal rights groups have been working in legislatures across the country to eliminate various methods of bear hunting. In Alaska and Maine, the anti-hunters have filed language to eliminate most bear hunting through ballot initiatives. But few states have been targeted as often as New Jersey.
" The dedication and determination of hundreds of sportsmen who attended public meetings and sent letters to the Fish and Game Council supporting the hunt have paid off," said U.S. Sportsmen' s Alliance Field Director Tony Celebrezze. " The approval of a black bear hunting season in New Jersey is a huge victory for sportsmen in a state where the anti-hunting movement is working overtime to ban all outdoor sports."
The state plans to issue up to 10,000 permits to sportsmen who have passed a course on hunting bears. The hunt will be held in Sussex, Warren, Passaic and Morris counties in the area north of Route 78 and west of Route 287. The Department of Environmental Protection estimates there are 1,300 to 3,200 black bears in New Jersey, mostly in the northwest part of the state.
During the current legislative session, anti-hunters introduced bills to prohibit the opening of a bear season. Assembly Bill 479 and Senate Bill 1219 would also have provided funding to animal rights groups to study non-lethal methods of bear control.
Celebrezze encourages sportsmen to continue to contact their legislators in opposition to these bills and any other legislation that removes the jurisdiction of professional biologists from wildlife management decisions.
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