New Jersey Judge Halts Black Bear Hunt Just Days Before the Opener
BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 11 months ago
New Jersey appellate court judge issued an order on Wednesday, Nov. 30 to temporarily pause the state’s first black bear hunt since 2020, which was set to start on Monday, Dec. 5. The halt is in response to a lawsuit filed by the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, the Humane Society of the United States, and Friends of the Animals. These three organizations decry active black bear management and denounce population count methods used by the state. (If this all sounds familiar, it’s because a similar lawsuit was filed in Montana over wolf hunting.)
Many New Jerseyans were shocked on Nov. 15 when governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife reinstated a limited black bear hunt. Governor Murphy had sworn to end the hunt once and for all during his campaign but changed his tune after bear encounters spiked across the state. New Jersey has one of the highest concentrations of black bears in the country, with an estimated population of around 3,000 to 4,000 bears. New Jersey is 8,723 square miles, putting the population density at around one bear every 2.2 square miles. However, since much of the state is made up of metropolitan areas, densities in some places are likely much higher than that.
No one deserves this more than a state who would elect the likes of Bob Menendez and Cory Booker to the U.S. Senate, and Phil Murphy to the governor’s mansion.
Actions have consequences. Suck it up, New Jerseyans. Call the cops while that black bear is charging you or tearing your pet dogs to pieces. Their response time should be less than half an hour.
Modern game management techniques and herd size control are only for smart people. The rest can go pound sand.
On December 11, 2022 at 9:55 pm, Sal said:
Know many statists that hunt, me neither.
On December 12, 2022 at 9:15 am, Drake said:
The western counties of NJ are as red as any in the South – and where bears are a problem.
When my kids were in elementary school in Warren County, they had many days one year where they could not go outside for recess because a bear was wondering around the playground and the state cops refused to shoot it. Finally somebody got it during the bear season. (back when Christie was Governor)