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- New Jersey Black Bear HuntPosted on: 2010-04-06In New Jersey, it’s illegal to feed bears—intentionally or through improperly stored garbage. Although studies show that bear complaints drop significantly when garbage is properly stored, the Division does not enforce this law. Instead, they turn the other way while thousands of bear country residents—especially on garbage day—violate the Bear Bear Feeding Ban (NJSA 23:2A-14). And when bears are inevitably lured into human environments by the smell of food items in the garbage, the Division then sets a trap and shoots the bear—often right on the homeowner's property.
They then use these very same bear nuisance incidents to drum up support for bear hunting.
The Division is not only breaking the law by failing to enforce the feeding ban. They are sabotaging non-lethal bear management.
Why?
The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife does not protect wildlife. The Division (formerly Fish & Game) exists to regulate hunting, and to serve the interests of the hunting community. Salaries of Fish & Wildlife employees are paid for via the sale of hunting licenses and their existence is contingent on killing animals.
Could New Jersey’s rapid decrease in the popularity of hunting have the Division eager for increased revenue? They are very active in recruiting new hunters, even encouraging children as young as ten years old to hunt. And black bears, our largest land mammal, is clearly in the center of their crosshairs.
The Division also inflates population statistics by encouraging residents to contact them regarding bear sitings. But whether a resident calls to complain or to ask a question, the call is logged as a nuisance complaint. This manipulated data is further compromised, as 10 calls about one bear are recorded as 10 complaints. The Division then uses these complaints to justify a need for a bear hunt.
When game officers shoot 'nuisance' bears, they reinforce the myth that bears are dangerous. Yet the bears they kill are targeted for knocking over trash, emptying birdfeeders, and lapping up honey from beehives. On rare occasions, when home (or garage) entry is involved, it is the bears that are blamed. The Division refuses to address the true source of the problem: a homeowner who did not bearproof their property.
Division employees—who should be non-biased—argue publicly in favor of black bear hunting and align themselves with hunters. The Division is literally a state-sanctioned hunting organization. And it is clear that they are eager to gun for New Jersey’s largest and most majestic land animal—our black bear.
The Division doesn't have a black bear management plan; what they have an agenda. With each 'complaint' they log, with each homeowner not fined for violating the feeding law, and with each bear they publicly shoot—they lay the groundwork for another bear hunt this year, 2010.
Website:www.savenjbears.com/Home.htmlEmail:hasla1@verizon.net
