The League of Animal Protection Voters is proposing legislation that will aggressively and
pro actively solve negative interactions between humans and black
bears. The plan is two-fold: Control bear reproduction and
deal effectively with so called "problem"' bears. The
plan also creates a system to fund the program, as well as to
compensate farmers for financial loss due to bears.
Reproductive Control
Spay-Vac is a one shot, multi-year birth control vaccine produced
by Dalhousie University in Canada. Having been tested for a decade,
Spay -Vac is most promising for both its ease of delivery
and effectiveness.
The League proposes three experimental trials
that will be carried out under strict FDA guidelines for experimental
vaccines and will be overseen by objective bear experts who will
assess the biological and sociological impacts of the vaccines.
Each trial will consist of 25 bears with a total study group of
75 animals. Since this vaccines is not harmful to humans, the
sites can be set up in population centers and towns most affected
by bears. Three separate sites will be chosen based upon high
number of complaints and population of bears per square mile.
Each bear will be radio collared and given a special tag so that
they can be tracked and identified as being part of a specific
trial.
Local government approval would be mandatory and assistance will
be given to towns to promote bear watching as ecotourism events.
Since many local residents interact with the same bears on a daily
basis, they would be enlisted to help document and record the
activity of the bears.
The initial phase of the trials will be one full breeding season.
The data will then be examined and used as the basis for the next
round of trials. For the second year, another 50 bears will be
introduced into the program. The cycle would continue yearly until
the goal of zero population growth is reached in areas most affected
by bears.
The goal is to have zero population growth within these population
centers. Through other factors, such as the reduction of food
availability and mortality rates, the bear population will decrease.
Aversive Conditioning
If a town has problems with vandalism, going 50 miles away and
randomly shooting 350 teenagers solves nothing. Yet this is the
exact philosophy of the planned bear hunt. Dealing directly
with the vandals is more practical, so the behavior is not repeated.
No matter what the size of the bear population, only adverse conditioning
will stop negative interactions. This is why holding a hunt
to stop "problem" bears is naive and impractical.
Even killing three-quarters of the bears in New Jersey may not
remove one "problem" bear. On the other hand,
aversive conditioning deals directly with "problem"
bears by retraining them, stopping the specific behavior. This
is the League's philosophy.
Officer Steve Searles is a wildlife management
consultant who has created a non-lethal management program that
has had great success. His program is used in Mammoth Lakes, California,
and has widespread support from the community and officials. The
program's effectiveness has been astounding.
The Bear Education and Resource (BEAR) group has undertaken efforts
to reach out to police chiefs in areas with high bear populations.
Meetings are planned for July and August. With their support,
we can begin to educate and train police officers with Steve Searles'
program.
BEAR is also committed to an intensive education program that
shows people how to peacefully coexist with bears. When
people learn they do not need to fear bears, they stop fearing
them. When they learn how to bear proof their houses, the
bears no longer become a "problem". In contrast
to an aggressive education campaign, hunting is not an effective
approach to resolving human/bear conflicts. Hunting may, in fact,
escalate such conflicts. Because of the territorial behavior exhibited
by bears, it is biologically impossible for black bears to overpopulate
their habitat. This is one reason why Tom Beck, a black bear expert
with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, has stated, "We
hunt bears not because we have to, but because we want to."
The Black Bear
Stamp
A black bear stamp program will be initiated to fund the League's
plan. This program will be a replica of the highly successful
black bear stamp program currently being used by the State of
Maryland. Funds from the sale of these collector stamps
will be divided between paying for the cost of the trials and
for compensation to farmers who can adequately document bear depredation
of crops.
Even with this stamp, there will still be a need for appropriations
from the legislature. We believe that it will be less than what
the legislature has already given the Division of Fish and Wildlife
for their bear program. Considering that the Division did not
use this money for reproductive control measures, an appropriation
under our plan would be well spent because it will be directed
into a substantive, effective management program.
Preservation of Bear
Habitat
Another extremely important issue is the preservation of open
space in areas where bears live. The plan calls for priority to
be given to these lands under the Green Acres bond act. We cannot
afford to lose one more acre of bear habitat.
The League also asks that Green Acres money currently being used
for hunting purposes be returned and used according to the true
intent of the act -- solely to purchase land. For example, the
Division of Fish and Wildlife was appropriated $250,000
for the Rockport Game Farm in the 1995 Green Acres bond act. That
money is used to breed birds who are then released to be hunted.
Conclusion:
We have the methods and plans to implement effective reproductive
control and effective "problem" bear control. However,
our hands are bound by the New Jersey Fish and Game Council. The
Council is a quasi-legislative state board that has the power
to decide who will be hunted, the lengths of the hunting seasons,
and how many animals each hunter may kill. All members of the
Council are hunters and their mandate is to provide recreational
hunting.
We have no voice on the Council and they have ignored every attempt
to implement non-lethal measures. That is why we are seeking
legislation. The League's plan can work, but it cannot be
implemented nor fairly evaluated if the Council is involved. It
is necessary, therefore, that oversight of the plan be given to
an impartial body.
We propose that oversight of our bears be given to a 5-member
Bear Study Commission composed of one member from the state veterinarian
board, a certified expert on black bears, a representative of
the League, and two legislators. The Commission would produce
bimonthly reports that would be presented to the Senate Environment
Committee and the Assembly Agriculture Committee.
The people of our state are overwhelmingly against the Council's
bear hunt, but we are powerless to stop it. Only the legislature
can override the Council. We ask, in the name of common
sense and compassion, that the legislature first secure the safety
of our bears by passing the Black Bear Protection Act, and then
move forward with our plan to create a better method of living
with wildlife in the 21st century.