NJ Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife and the NJ Fish and Game Council
The NJ Division of Fish, Game Wildlife and the NJ Fish and Game
Council have control over all of our wildlife. The Council is
a quasi-legislative board that has the power to decide what animals
can be hunted, the lengths of the hunting seasons, and how many
animals each hunter may kill. All members of the Council are hunters.
The salaries of Fish and Game employees are paid for from the
sale of hunting licenses. They must sell $11,000,000 worth of
licenses just to cover their salaries and benefits. To make this
money, they allow hunters to slaughter more than 1,000,000 animals
each year. The sad truth is that the state agency that should
be protecting wildlife instead profits from their slaughter.·
Fish and Game, in their 'NJ Black Bear Management Plan' (BBMP),
recommends a hunting season for bears.
History of Bears in NJ
In 1971, Fish and Game closed the hunting season on bears because
they had been hunted to the point of near extinction. Only 10
animals survived Fish and Game's "management". Black
bears are still recovering from this massacre.·
Bear Hunting Not Necessary
Objective VIII of the BBMP gives the option of protecting bears
and not allowing a hunting season. Patricia McConnel, Fish and
Games' former bear expert, was asked about this at a public hearing
dealing with black bears. She stated that it was "biologically
viable" to not hunt bears and to allow them to control their
own numbers.·
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 a bear population to overpopulate its 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."
Destruction of Bear Habitat
Saving habitat suited for bears is critical to the future of these
animals. In addition, land already saved must not be manipulated
to the detriment of bears. On the Fish and Game owned Flatbrook
Wildlife Management Area, in Sussex County, Fish and Game allowed
the clear cutting of 150 acres of mature forest. This was done
to provide habitat suited for Grouse and Woodcock, which would
then provide more hunting opportunities. In doing so, however,
they destroyed high quality bear habitat.
Damage Caused by Bears
Damage caused by bears can be drastically reduced by taking some
easy precautions. Bear proofing garbage cans alone can solve most
of the human/bear interactions. Other forms of damage, such as
livestock and beehive losses, happen most often due to poor upkeep
of enclosures.
On page 112 of the BBMP it states: "Livestock losses are
few, and bird feeder losses, although numerous, can be easily
avoided by the landowner."
In Fish and Games' 1992 Bear Research Report, they discuss livestock killed by bears and make the following observation: "None of the livestock was protected by electric fencing." They made the same remarks in their 1985 report about beehives: "In all instances involving beehives, there was either no electric fence, or fences were inoperative."
Opposition to a Bear Hunting Season
For the BBMP, Fish and Game polled 300 residents of areas with
high bear populations. Only 15 people were in favor of hunting.
267 people said the population shouldn't even be reduced.
Why We Need Legislation Against Bear Hunting
Since Fish and Game and the Fish and Game Council have complete
authority over all our wildlife, and are controlled by those who
hunt, or those who are dependent upon hunting, they care little
for what the 99% of the people of our state who do not hunt have
to say. An example of this is NJ's coyote hunting season.
In February of 1997, against overwhelming opposition, Fish and Game enacted the first ever coyote hunt in our state. This action brought forth such condemnation from the public that Fish and Game biologist Bob Lund, quoted in the Courier Post, said "This is the worst. No question." Faced with the worst public opposition they have ever seen, Fish and Game simply ignored it, and had another coyote hunt the following year.
Fish and Games' reason for this hunt? From the NJ Register, Aug. 19, 1996: "The proposed hunting season will allow for increased recreational use of the coyote resource by New Jersey Sportsmen and women."
This is almost exactly what they have stated they want to do with our bears. Since Fish and Game ignored the overwhelming public opposition to the coyote hunt, we can expect them to do the same with bears.
Robert McDowell, the Director of Fish and Wildlife, made the following statement when questioned about the coyote hunting season: "There have been substantial efforts in the past by the national animal rights/welfare groups to challenge the authority of the Council. They were unsuccessful. You, of course, always have the option to contact legislative representatives on this and any issue you feel requires redress,"
We are following Mr. McDowells' advice. The only way for NJ's bears to be protected is for the state legislature to take the power away from Fish and Game. The Black Bear Protection Act is the only thing that stands between Fish and Game and their senseless slaughter of NJ's bears.