Credit: (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter, File)New Jersey should again allow a black bear hunt to protect the public from a growing bear population after a surge in confrontations with humans this year, Gov. Phil Murphy proposed Thursday.
After stopping the hunt last year, Murphy said it’s time to allow hunters to resume a cull that would add to nonlethal measures which he said have not done enough to control a growing population.
“It is clear that New Jersey’s black bear population is growing significantly, and non-lethal bear-management strategies alone are not enough to mitigate this trend,” he said in a statement. “We must responsibly adapt to the population with carefully regulated and strict bear population-management strategies to ensure our communities and families are protected from the growing black bear population.”
‘Given the black bear population and dispersion circumstances affecting New Jersey, a regulated hunt with humane limitations is necessary and appropriate.’ — Shawn LaTourette, commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection
Officials said the number of bear “incidents” in the first 10 months of 2022 was 237% higher than a year earlier. They included 62 “aggressive” encounters with humans, 12 dog attacks, and 84 instances of property damage costing owners more than $1,000. The state’s population of about 3,000 bears is largely in Sussex, Warren and Passaic counties; the statewide number is expected to rise to some 4,000 in two years without more control measures, officials said.
A high bear population can cut the natural food supply and territory for young males, officials said. That causes wider dispersion of bears into areas where they can come into conflict with people and increases the risk of bears seeking food from trash, pet food left outside, bird feeders, agricultural crops, and poultry and livestock.
‘Over-population’
The restarted hunt is justified by an “over-population” of black bears that are straying into areas where they may threaten humans and are less supported by the natural environment, said Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.
“Given the black bear population and dispersion circumstances affecting New Jersey, a regulated hunt with humane limitations is necessary and appropriate,” LaTourette said.
Asked why Murphy is proposing to restart the bear hunt now, spokesman Bailey Lawrence said the administration wants to avoid any fatal encounter between bears and humans.
“After hearing from impacted communities and analyzing data on the ground, it became clear that the state had reached a critical moment with respect to the growing black bear population. The Governor, in partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish and Game Council, recognized a turning point at which action needed to be taken in order to prevent tragic bear-human interactions. The reinstatement of a more regulated bear hunt will help mitigate the growing bear population and prevent drastic population increases in the future,” Lawrence said.
‘Managing garbage in a responsible way would prevent bears from frequenting areas.’ — Angi Metler, Animal Protection League
Murphy’s plan would allow hunters to kill bears in designated areas on state and private lands from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10, which is also the firearm season for deer. The aim is to reduce the population by 20%, or some 600 bears. If that target isn’t reached in the first week, the season will be extended to the following week, Dec. 14-17.
The hunt began annually in 2010. It was suspended on state lands in 2018 to evaluate whether the population could be controlled with nonlethal measures enough to ensure public safety, officials said. A state policy called the Comprehensive Black Bear Management Plan expired in 2021, and no legal bear hunting has taken place on any lands in New Jersey since 2020.
Criticism of Murphy
Murphy said he remains committed to ending the bear hunt but “the data demands that we act now to prevent tragic bear-human interactions.”
Jeff Tittel, former director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, and an opponent of the hunt, accused Murphy of backing away from a campaign promise to end bear hunting. Murphy failed to keep that promise until last year, and is now proposing to break it again, Tittel said.
Tittel argued that many New Jerseyans want bears to be preserved and protected because they are a symbol of the wild.
“Bears are a symbol that we still have wild places left, and not all of New Jersey has been paved over with shopping centers and subdivisions,” he said. The plan is subject to approval by the state Fish & Game Council at a meeting next Tuesday. The panel will consider restrictions that will ban taking bear cubs under 75 pounds; hunting adult bears in family groups that include cubs under 75 pounds, and restricting baiting. If the council approves, the hunt will be authorized under an emergency rule.
The Animal Protection League, an advocacy group, attacked the new policy as unjustified, and said state officials have failed to adopt nonlethal bear-control strategies such as making trash cans bear-proof, as used successfully in some western states.
“Managing garbage in a responsible way would prevent bears from frequenting areas,” said Angi Metler, director of the Animal Protection League.
The DEP said it will propose ways of better managing trash disposal as part of a separate program on wildlife management and public safety.
