New Jersey hunters will have fewer opportunities to harvest the elusive black bear (Ursus americanus) this fall.
Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed an executive order on August 20th that would outright ban black bear hunting for the Fall 2018 season. This will specifically prohibit harvesting these apex predators on any public lands that fall under the purview of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Anti-hunting organizations like the Sierra Club and Humane Society naturally welcomed this ban on managed hunting but suggested it doesn’t go far enough.
“Although this is a step in the right direction, this executive order does not go far enough,” said Brian Hackett, New Jersey state director of the Humane Society of the United States. “We urge Governor Murphy to heed the wishes of his constituents and keep his campaign promise to end the statewide bear hunt. New Jersey’s beloved bears are neither ornaments nor rugs.”
Murphy, in a recent Facebook video, said he was eager to fulfill his campaign promises to stop this “cruel” practice. The governor’s rejection of scientific-based wildlife management practices will not only undermine the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, it will lead to more unnecessary human-bear encounters.
Perhaps the most horrific case in recent memory came in 2014 after a Rutgers University student was mauled to death by a black bear during a hiking trip. More recently, black bears have been spotted in suburban backyards and near Princeton University as recent as June.
Sierra Club has falsely claimed black bear numbers have depreciated as a justification to stop the hunt. Are black bear numbers on the decline as the Sierra Club suggests? The evidence actually points to the contrary.
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife notes the black bear population has grown exponentially since the 1980’s. The International Union for Conservation of Nature also puts the black bear’s status under the “least concern” category. Given their widespread reach across the country in places like New Jersey, with their population exploding in recent years, IUCN notes wildlife management agencies have encouraged hunters to help control their population growth through controlled, legal harvests over further growth and expansion.
Continue reading at Sporting Classics Daily.
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