By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
bscruton@njherald.com
New Jersey will have a bear hunt this December.
Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said today he has approved a black bear management policy for the state that includes a bear hunt from Dec. 6-11, the same time as the state’s annual six-day firearm deer season. Only shotguns and muzzleloaders will be allowed.
There will be a $2 permit application fee assessed, the same as the state’s last two hunts in 2003 and 2005 and there will be a limit of 10,000 bear permits issued. If there are more applications than permits, a lottery will be held to select who gets permits.
In his announcement, Martin said he was approving the policy, which was adopted by the state Fish and Game Council last week, because “it takes advantage of the most modern management tools” and the state needs to institute a hunt as a proven scientific method of controlling the bear population.
Janet Piszar, who heads the Bear Education And Resources Group, disputed that claim. “The public has spoken and it proves definitely they are not buying into the stated need for the hunt. This clearly is a recreational hunt.”
The BEAR Group has advocated more state attention be paid to efforts such as education, enforcement of no-feeding laws and non-lethal methods of keeping bears away from homes and neighborhoods.
Those efforts are important, said Martin during Wednesday’s news conference, but he said hunting has also been s ...
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON
bscruton@njherald.com
New Jersey will have a bear hunt this December.
Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said today he has approved a black bear management policy for the state that includes a bear hunt from Dec. 6-11, the same time as the state’s annual six-day firearm deer season. Only shotguns and muzzleloaders will be allowed.
There will be a $2 permit application fee assessed, the same as the state’s last two hunts in 2003 and 2005 and there will be a limit of 10,000 bear permits issued. If there are more applications than permi ...
