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| Bill Lea pic |
In six days earlier this month, hunters killed 265 New Jersey black
bears. That’s an average of 44 bears,
cubs and adults, a day.
For the first three days, hunters were restricted to bows and
arrows. After that, archers and
muzzle-loading rifle hunters were “allowed to participate,” as the Times of Trenton reported, as if
discussing a party or a dance. On
Monday, Dec. 9, the firearms-only bear hunt resumes for six more days.
“Most of the bears harvested
[so far] this year were culled in
Sussex, Warren and Morris counties,” the story said, first using a euphemism
more appropriate for vegetables than for innocent sentient beings, and then
using a word that in wildlife management usually
refers to removing a sick or weak animal from a herd or flock.
But the 265 black bears just killed by hunters were
not necessarily sick or weak -- they were simply “killable” -- that is, visible,
possibly drawn by bait, or they just happened by . . . and so they were killed.
There was no selection of which bears
should die; there were simply hunters out there ready to kill bears.
“Culling” is bad enough for the animals; indiscriminate
killing is worse.
All of which raises the question: Why?
Sometimes the reason given is that bears can be
nuisances. They may raid humans’ garbage
cans or bird feeders, jeopardize pets’ safety, scare people. But how many humans in bear country use
bear-proof trash containers? And what
kind of enforcement occurs to assure they do?
The numbers of phone calls about nuisance bears are often cited as
an excuse for the bear hunt. But even if
those numbers are valid, they would surely drop dramatically if people used
bear-proof garbage containers.
Without the recommended receptacles and without enforcement, what’s
left? A bear hunt, in which any bear in
the hunters’ sights may be killed. And
that’s why this state’s bear hunt comes across as little more than a trophy
hunt -- with innocent bears being killed.
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| Kehoe pic |
I doubt that
those hunting the bears are people irate that their garbage bins were raided;
somehow, I think they’re just people who think it’s "sport" to kill bears (by
whatever poacher-means necessary, like baiting). . . just people eager to brag
about the bear(s) that didn’t get away.
This bear hunt is
a trophy-travesty fostered by the Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW),
whose bear-management plan is murderous,
not humane or non-lethal. It kowtows to
hunters -- a teeny-tiny percentage of our population -- apparently without a
single compassionate, or informed, thought about our black bears.
Isn’t it time for
New Jersey residents, most of whom want only to enjoy our open spaces and wildlife,
to take on DFW? One animal advocacy
organization, the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, has already been told
that zero complaints about bears would still not halt the hunt. (See October 13
post.)
Since then, the director
of the Humane Society of the US-New Jersey highlighted for DFW reps the “out of
touch, ineffective, counterproductive, and extreme regulations on the books
such as those that allow bear baiting.”
He also “asked that they make even a mild effort to ticket garbage
offenders in key concentrated places of complaints or problems.”
But DFW reps “refused to even commit to
that—refused to enforce their own regulation, which would cut down on complaints,
which would cut down on “justification” for hunting.” As a result, Director Brian Hackett concluded
that “our DEP is more out of touch and extreme than those in Arizona, Wyoming,
and other hunting-heavy states.”
Before Part 2 of the bear hunt can
begin in December, let’s barrage Governor Murphy with phone calls, urging him
to keep his campaign promise to end the hunt.
Despite his disclaimers, doing so is legally within his power -- and
morally, he owes it to the bears. His
half-measure “compromise” last year didn’t satisfy anyone, them least of all.
Please phone the governor (609-292-6000)!
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