New Jersey’s Infamous Bear Hunt To Be Banned
Governor Phil Murphy outlines plans to stop “one of the cruelest bear hunts in the country”.
New Jersey’s controversial annual bear hunt will be illegal from next year.
Governor Phil Murphy has proposed an amendment to the New Jersey Game Code that suspends the hunt, and places a focus on using non-lethal methods to control the black bear population.
“With today’s announcement, we will end the bear hunt under my Administration and develop a new black bear policy that keeps public safety at the forefront of our concerns while protecting wildlife in the State”, said Murphy.
The annual hunt is currently split into two segments: the use of archery and muzzleloading rifles to shoot bears in October, with December reserved for the use of firearms only.
Under the current guidelines, anyone with a hunting license over the age of 14 can hunt bears. In addition, hunters are allowed to shoot a female even if she is with her cubs, and they can also shoot a cub.
In the 2019 hunt, a total of 315 black bears were killed across eight counties, with the majority shot in Sussex and Warren.
“New Jersey’s Bear Hunt has had the reputation of being one of the cruelest bear hunts in the country”, said Senator Vin Gopal. “I am very thankful to Governor Murphy for making 2020’s Bear Hunt the last one ever in the state of New Jersey. This inhumane practice has gone on far too long, and it is time to eliminate it in its entirety on public and private lands.”
Animal rights groups have welcomed the news, and are confident that the black bear population can be controlled humanely.
Ever since bear hunting ceased in 1971, the issue of controlling the bear population in New Jersey has proved highly contentious. Hunts had been mooted without success from the late 1980s, and the first hunt in three decades was scheduled for March 2000, but dismissed after one million residents objected. A hunt did go ahead three years later, but such was the public outcry that it was stopped within two days. Under the Corzine Administration, hunts were outlawed for three years, until the election of Chris Christie, who oversaw the killings of 592 bears in 2010.
In 2016, the hunt was split across two different months, with 636 bears killed - the highest since records began. However, Governor Murphy promised a moratorium on the hunt, following his election in 2017. The following year, he signed an executive order prohibiting bear hunting on all State-owned land.
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