Whoda Thunk It? Black Bear Complaints Going Up In New Jersey

Coming as a complete shock to no one, unless of course you live under a cabbage somewhere, bear complaints from New Jersey residents are on the rise, an obvious result of New Jersey officials canceling this year’s bear hunt. Just days before the scheduled December 4 black bear hunt, Lisa Jackson, puppet of the newly elected anti-hunting Governor, Jon Corzine, pulled the plug on the bear hunt stating that the court approved Black Bear Management Plan, was faulty and didn’t provide enough non-lethal means of controlling bear populations. The New Jersey Supreme Court opted not to make an emergency ruling on a lawsuit filed by several bear hunting proponent groups but they will listen to the case in a “non-emergency” format.

One of the reasons the game officials, including educated wildlife biologists, brought back the bear hunt was because like everywhere else on the planet, hunting is the best and most effective means of managing a healthy species population. Now with no means permitted of controlling the number of bears, they are forced into more confrontations with humans, mostly in search of food.

Rick Methot offers an article in the Trentonian yesterday citing numerous bear complaints and how the complaints are on the rise.

This fall, black bears in New Jersey killed livestock, attacked a house pet and were reported lurking in neighborhoods when kids were out Trick or Treating on Halloween.

A few statistics.

According to statistics released by acting Fish and Game Council chairperson Jeanette Vreeland at a Sussex County Federation meeting, 158 bear complaint calls were received from Oct. 20 to Nov. 20 of this year compared to 109 for the same time frame last year.

It should be noted that overall complaints for the year to date were down, the above is from the latest reporting period showing the disturbing uptick.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the reason the number of complaints overall is down is because last year there was a bear hunt helping to keep the population in check. If you think complaints are on the rise now, wait until next spring when the bears come out of hibernation “hungrier than a bear”! Then who knows what the future holds should anti-bear hunting Corzine gets his way again.

Methot says politics rather than science decides the fate of wildlife.

Evidence that science rather than politics respects and supports hunting comes in a just released report from the The Wildlife Society that urged officials to support the Black Bear Management Policy rejected by DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson.

“TWS comprises more than 7,000 wildlife experts — and endorses hunting as a legitimate and fundamental part of wildlife management,” the report states.

*Previous Posts*
Sen. Robert Littell Thinks Jackson’s Bear Proof Garbage Cans Idea “Unconscionable”
I Think Bears In New Jersey May Be Smarter Than Government Leaders
Differing Court Views Behind Bear Hunt Decisions
Questions And Answers About New Jersey Bear Hunt
New Jersey Supreme Court Has Ruled – No Bear Hunt This Year
New Jersey Supreme Court To Decide On Bear Hunt
Governor Corzine’s Got It All Wrong
New Jersey Appeals Court Says No To Hunters
Appellate Judges Hear Arguments On New Jersey Bear Hunt
New Jersey Bear Hunt Nixed By New DEP Commissioner
What Is New Jersey Governor Corzine Up To?
What’s The Status On The New Jersey Bear Hunt?

Tom Remington