Dear Editor:
A trophy hunt for random, native black bears will not solve individual conflicts with black bears.Consider what has happened to the deer herd under the watch of the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Fully one-third of the deer, 75,000, are killed every year by hunters. Still there are more than 9,000 deer/car accidents and $30million in crop damage each year in New Jersey, more than double 15 years ago.
If hunting has done virtually nothing to stop problem deer, why would anybody think a black bear hunt would eliminate incidents with bears. Shooting bears in Clinton, Warren and Wantage will not eliminate bear problems in Randolph, Paterson and Trenton. Instead why not educate communities on how to deal with problem bears and deal with each problem bear using our trained Certified Animal Control Officers and local police.
In just a few short weeks, hunters with bows and arrows, muzzle loaders and shotguns will move into the woods to kill native New Jersey black bears for the first time in 30 years.
The New Jersey Senate passed legislation to protect the black bear, but unless your readers act immediately, the protective legislation will not be heard in the Assembly and will not reach Governor Whitman’s desk before the hunt.
We are asking your readers to write to: Assembly Speaker Jack Collins, 63 East Avenue, Suite C, Woodstown, NJ 07098-1499. Ask Speaker Collins to see that the Black Bear Protection Bill passes the Assembly and reaches Governor Whitman’s desk before the bear hunt goes forward. Send a copy of the letter to Governor Christine Todd Whitman, State House, 125 W. State Street, CN001, Trenton, NJ 08625.
New Jersey citizens can coexist with native black bears using humane, non-lethal means.
Nina Austenberg, Director
The Humane Society of the United States