As bear sightings rise, New Jersey votes to expand hunt

[Little Tich]

Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters

(Reuters) - New Jersey, the U.S. state most densely populated by humans, is also thick with black bears, and wildlife officials voted Tuesday to expand the hunting season after the state's first recorded fatal attack.

New Jersey's northwest corner, less than 60 miles (96 km) from New York City, is home to one of the nation's highest concentrations of black bears, according to Larry Hajna, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

An annual bear hunt lasting six days in December was launched in 2010, when 3,600 bears were counted in the area. But even after five years of culling, the New Jersey bear population has surged back to 3,600, Hajna said.

The Department of Environmental Protection's Fish and Game Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a recommendation by environmental officials to expand the geographic area of the hunting zones, Hajna said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/black-bear-sightings-spike-jersey-vote-expanding-hunt-121101633.html

[iandhr]

1. Colbert would be happy

[ET Awful]

2. Hmmm. . . .

[asiliveandbreathe]

3. That's right - expand the hunting season - because tranks and moving them would be so damn expensive

This is disgusting....

[GGJohn]

4. So move them to become someone else's problems?

And bears are known to return to their domain from where they were removed from.

How about deers? Are you in favor of tranking them and relocating them instead of hunting them?

[asiliveandbreathe]

5. Dr Pearce I presume!

Try thinking out of the box...there is a solution - other than killing.....animals are moved all the time..bears fall from trees in my state because someone used a trank - and the bears are relocated....

[GGJohn]

6. And more often than not,

those bears will eventually reappear in that tree.

Bear meat is delicious if cooked right, we have them all around where I live and I don't go out into our pens or fields with out my trusty .30/.30, my .454 Casell and bear spray.

But you didn't answer my question.
Are you in favor of tranking deer and relocating them instead of hunting them?

[Drahthaardogs]

7. It's finding the habitat

Too many humans and not enough room for bears. Hunting is a viable method to ensure the population is healthy and not overcrowded.

[asiliveandbreathe]

9. Moving them is a viable method as well - we have plenty of natural habitats for bear

IMHO the right thing to do is of course protect their health - and not have overcrowding...move them....

[Yo_Mama]

13. Not in NJ!!! I suppose they could try to sending them to the EU, but otherwise

no state wants to take them, and I think Canada would become a bit irked with us if NJ trucked them to the border.

In 1997, NJ bear pop was estimated at 550 or thereabouts:
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/bear_mgt_plan_1997.pdf

That was probably too low. The population now seems to be over 3,000. There isn't room for them in the state!

[asiliveandbreathe]

16. Too bad you really only understand one way of thinking -

If you look around you will notice the vast wilderness of PA/NY/NJ/VA where bears already have a habitat..it is a minor few young cubs that wander off - urban cowboys...impatient, and scareded of these wonderful and beautiful creatures...

I guess moving to the west would be out of the question...we relocate wolves, too...

A suggestion to urban folk's - make sure you keep your yahd free and clear of any food that might attract a cub....

[yellowcanine]

18. Moving black bears is not such an easy proposition as you think

http://www.bearsmart.com/managing-bears/relocation/

[asiliveandbreathe]

20. I didn't say it is easy - anything worth doing requires a plan -

but, go ahead, kill them...take photos with your friends - mount those bear heads..skin those bears for a throw on your floor..why not -

Thanks for the research..seen it before....the output of information is only as good as the input...have at it! -

[yellowcanine]

28. Okay, not as viable as you think. Unless you move them really far away they come back.

And as many people have pointed out here, other states are not going to accept them. So it is not a viable plan.

[GGJohn]

19. And allowing hunters to harvest a set amount of black bears is

another viable option to control the population, probably the most viable and easiest way to do so.

[asiliveandbreathe]

21. Yep, easy - everyone likes easy....

[GGJohn]

23. Why make it harder than it has to be?

No other state around NJ wants them, I know my state wouldn't take them, as most western states wouldn't either, they have their own black bear population to deal with, the Feds prohibit relocating them on Fed. land, so why not expand the hunting to control the population?

[asiliveandbreathe]

25. Here's some Bear FOOD facts to digest even in NJ

http://www.aplnj.org/assets/pdf/TavssReport.pdf -

As well as other states....much study and solution with empirical evidence....

be well, DON"T FEED THE BEARS...

[GGJohn]

45. This has NOTHING to do with feeding the bears.

It has everything to do with controlling the population from over population.

[asiliveandbreathe]

48. Oh really - well again

Please don't feed the bears..is that better..besides NJ has a message..

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearfacts.htm

The most common bear problem New Jersey's residents experience is black bears getting into their garbage. Bears are attracted to neighborhoods by garbage odors, so properly securing your garbage is one of the best ways to prevent bears from becoming a nuisance in your community.

Residents are encouraged to work within their community to make sure all garbage is secured and kept away from bears. For tips on proper garbage management and coexisting with bears, visit: www.njfishandwildlife.com/bearfacts_avoid.htm


Be well GG

[GGJohn]

50. And, again, this isn't a people feeding the bears problem,

this is too many bears in an area that can't support that many bears.

[asiliveandbreathe]

52. Ah GG - amusing if nothing else..

I know you like links - here is another...

http://www.eregulations.com/newjersey/hunting/bear-hunting/

[GGJohn]

53. So what does that have to do with this thread? eom.

[Yo_Mama]

29. This is utter nonsense. 3,600 bears in a state of 7,354 square miles

means each bear has only about 2 square miles. That's about tops for a population if ALL the land in NJ were suited for bears - but it is not.

NJ has nowhere to move the bears and an acute overpopulation.

[happyslug]

8. Where do you want to move them to, PA does NOT want them and FORBIDS moving them into PA.

Neither does Up State New York, Delaware or Maryland. That leaves New York Central Park, do you think the City of New York will permit such a transfer? The Delaware Water Gap is Federal Land and the Fed will NOT permit them to be transferred to that Park. That is the problem, no one wants them.

Now, some people say they do, but we are NOT talking about keeping these bears as pets. Thus we have to look at the Game Commissions of these states and all of those Game Commissions have said NO to moving bears into their states. Private landowners could say they want them, but unless we treat the bears as cattle (i.e if you agree to permit the Bear on your property, any damage they do to anyone's else property you are liable for) that is NOT possible (I have yet to read about someone willing to pay for any damage a bear does, if the bear is permitted on their property and gets off that property and does damage).

Sorry, all of the states I know of considered themselves to have to many bears at the present time. As long as that is the case, moving the bears is not an option, for the only place to move them to is a slaughter house. Is that what you want? Think about the options before you try to get people to adopt them.

[asiliveandbreathe]

10. PULEEZ - oh I forgot - urban area residents just don't know what to do

when a bear might be sighted..and we do not move bear to slaughter houses..we move them to a wide open range...

[happyslug]

11. In Western Pennsylvania we do not move them at all.

For the simple reason no one wants them. Remember we are discussing Black Bears, not Grizzly bears. Grizzlys are still endangered, that is NOT true of Black Bears. We basically leave them alone and hope a hunter gets them during hunting season. Grizzlys are moved for there are Grizzly areas with no Grizzlys but that is NOT true of Black Bears.

in the Pittsburgh Suburb of Monroeville had the Game Commission move a Black Bear ion May 2015, but that was an exception to the general rule of leaving the bears alone even in the suburbs (Hunting of bears is within the sole power of the Game Commission, the local Governments are FORBIDDEN to ban hunting, thus it is legal to hunt even in the City of Pittsburgh).

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/tag/black-bear/

http://triblive.com/sports/2904543-74/bears-bear-county-urban-areas-commission-allegheny-pennsylvania-black-game#axzz3iZFdhT30

in 2012 a bear entered a Suburban Mall, was tranquilized but then released nearby for the bear was part of a research project involving urban bears:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/22/bear-cub-pittsburgh-mill-mall_n_1692914.html

Black bears are becoming an urban problem, one that has to be addressed for most of the East are at their max bear population. Moving them some place else is no longer an option.

[Coventina]

43. Bears are not the problem, people are.

Any scientist will tell you that.

We have too damn many people on this planet.

Global climate change is not due to bears.

[Yo_Mama]

12. Move them to where???

The problem is that the bear population has been expanding very rapidly, and the reason they are all over the suburbs is that they have outgrown their natural habitat.

There's no place to move them to where they can live.

[lonestarnot]

63. Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, GA, SC

[Yo_Mama]

64. I can't speak for the rest of those states, but

if NJ starts trucking their bears to GA, we will start shooting, and it won't necessarily be at the bears.

We have our own bear, and we are actively hunting them each year to keep the population down:
http://www.gon.com/article.php?id=3077&cid=94

Adam turned to last year’s north Georgia bear season as evidence of the health of the black bear population. He suspects a record 2011 harvest hasn’t even checked population growth. “A perfect storm” was how he described last season.

Several factors came together and resulted in hunters killing 529 bears in 2011. That’s a record harvest and then some. It’s more than 27 percent higher than the previous record harvest in 2009, and it’s nearly double the 2010 harvest total.

NGA bear population is probably 4,000 - 5,000. MGA population is 300-400. SGA/Florida (Okefenokee) population is estimated to be around 800-900.

GA bear hunts take place each year in bear season, and usually add up to at least 400 in total. We have so many bear that it is not even a quota hunt at this point.
http://georgiawildlife.com/sites/default/files/uploads/wildlife/hunting/pdf/regulations/2015-2016_StateSeason_summary.pdf

Seriously, moving hundreds of NJ bears to GA would be pure animal cruelty. They would have little chance of survival - the area is populated, bears are quite territorial, and if they are dumped on an area they don't know where to look for food and have little chance.

[chernabog]

14. According to the article,

5 years of culling did nothing. So, lets expand the area to kill even more! Hell, kill em all. Who needs these bloodthirsty monsters invading humans rightful habitat. Plus, killing bears increases your penis size, and that's a scientific fact. So win win all around!

[happyslug]

17. A five day hunting season was deemed to short

Thus New Jersey wants to double the time period. The alternative is professional hunters but someone has to pay them and the Game Commission refuses to pay for such hunts. Sooner or later New Jersey will provide an expanded season in suburbia for that has worked elsewhere.

If you go on the net you will find articles blaming this on Global Warming. Do to the increase in winter temperatures more bear cubs are surviving to adulthood which mean they have to move someplace and thus the increase population in the suburbs.

[chernabog]

22. Damn those cubs for living to adulthood

I'm glad they will now be killed...stupid bears.




Didn't New Jersey just have one of the coldest winters on record?

[GGJohn]

24. Sorry, but human safety will always win out out over the populatiion of bears.

I hunt and have no problem with NJ doing this to control their black bear population.

[chernabog]

26. 1 Fatal attack in the history of New Jersey

And you want to kill all the bears. You have quite the bloodlust don't you.

The bear hunt in New Jersey is a trophy hunt, plain and simple. It won't solve a thing.
Public education, appropriate garbage containment, enforcement of feeding ban laws and training for police officers and wildlife personnel is what needs to happen.
Bears are a self-regulating species. When they are denied access to unnatural foods, their reproductive rate goes down to what the environment can sustain. Black bears DO NOT OVERPOPULATE.

[GGJohn]

46. Really?

I said I want to kill all the bears? Please provide a link where I said that or retract it.

[chernabog]

47. Well it's obvious

The only way to keep people safe is to kill all the Bears.

[GGJohn]

49. Only in your mind

Hunting has a place in this country, and I have no problem with NJ culling it's pop. of black bears to keep humans safe.

My wife and I hunt for our meat, and what we don't hunt, we raise organically to eat, it's a hell of a lot better that that store bought crap that's loaded with who knows what kinds of chemicals and preservatives.

[chernabog]

54. Why should hunting have a place in this country?

Slavery also had a place in this country.
Hunting is just not necessary at all.

[GGJohn]

55. Sure it does.

Would you rather people eat that store bought crap?
Or are you one of those that thinks humans shouldn't be eating meat at all?

[chernabog]

56. Option 2

http://freefromharm.org/health-nutrition/catching-up-with-science-burying-the-humans-need-meat-argument/

[GGJohn]

57. You're more than free to pursue that course of action,

but millions upon millions of Americans will continue to eat meat and hunt.

[chernabog]

58. For no reason

Other than to appease their tastebuds, and for the thrill of killing.

[GGJohn]

59. A nice venison steak does appease my tastebuds,

and I don't hunt for the thrill of killing, I hunt for the thrill of knowing I'm eating healthy, wholesome food.

[chernabog]

60. Do you have hunting trophies

Hanging up on your walls?

[GGJohn]

61. No I do not.

I hunt for food, not to hang anything on my walls, the only thing on our walls are pictures and wife's knick knacks.

[Yo_Mama]

30. It stopped the population increase. But to bring it down they will need to cull more

If you have 700 breeding females with an average of 2 cubs making it, that's 1,400 new bears a year. Killing 200-300 doesn't cut the population. Assuming a natural death rate of 10%, you are still not going to see a controlled population.

This has to do with bear sex, not human sex.

Give NJ this - they actually tried to figure out if they could do it by sterilizing the sows (female bears). The answer was "No".

[chernabog]

31. If you have people

still leaving garbage out and feeding them, this hunt will do nothing. This is a trophy hunt, nothing more.

Why not just kill them all? No more bear problem lol

[Yo_Mama]

32. 2 bears per square mile in NJ is a huge overpopulation

That would be about max capacity if the land were all virgin, but of course it is not. The bears are dangerous to humans because they have to be so to survive - they do not have enough natural food sources. Lock up the garbage cans and they come through the doors.

2,000 bears in NJ would be overpopulation. Over 3,000 is nuts.

[chernabog]

34. The overpopulation

Is caused by humans.
Bears don't overpopulate on their own.

[Yo_Mama]

35. Of course they do - then they fight and kill amongst themselves.

And some starve.

Your theories are unfounded.

[chernabog]

37. Haha wow

At what exact point does a bear overpopulate?
Natural resources prevent this from happening.

[Yo_Mama]

40. But resources aren't the same year to year

What happens is that populations therefore "wobble", as the carrying capacity of the environment changes from year to year. This means that a balanced population one year will naturally turn into overpopulation in some future year.

Obviously utilizing human resources cushions some of that, but it means that bear and human populations will naturally collide even if both populations are pretty static over time.

Black bears normally go after agriculture when food gets short, which is why the Indians used to hunt them quite a bit. Bears and humans naturally compete for resources. Bears also compete with each other for resources, and if food gets short the males and females will fight over territory, and I believe that black bear males will kill cubs and eat them if they are hungry, which certainly does keep the population down.

In any case, in New Jersey bears and humans have been living together for a very, very long time - thousands of years. I'm sure they'll be living in NJ with humans for thousands more years.

Death is nature's way of population control. Like humans, bears naturally duke it out and take to killing their own when things get tight.

[chernabog]

41. Perfect

No human intervention needed then.

[trusty elf]

15. :-(

[img][/img]

[ruffburr]

27. Feed them Chris Christie-

Then relocate them to the wild, Might as well make something good happen for the bears and the citizens of New Jersey.

[shrike]

33. Bears spotted in Northern Indiana

In the area of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Lake Michigan. Not a problem yet. Too bad they don't eat enough venison to help curb our deer population.

[Coventina]

36. Trophy hunters are scum.

Hunting anything you don't eat is trophy hunting.

Or, killing for the thrill of it, which is just plain sick.

I hate my species.

[madville]

39. Bear meat is pretty good

I would compare it to Beaver.

It's great in the crock pot, cooked in a stew or ground for a dish like chili.

[Coventina]

42. How many of the bears killed in this "hunt" are going to be eaten?

I'll bet very few, if any.

[madville]

44. I would bet most eat or at least donate the bear meat

They have expanded alligator quotas here in Florida in recent years, everyone I know keeps the meat.

Everyone thinks of gator tail but my favorite parts are actually the legs and jowls.

[Coventina]

62. I would bet they don't. n/t

[smirkymonkey]

38. "That wasn't a bear!"

"That was Chris Christie tearing through your garbage cans last night!"

Sorry, just couldn't resist.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

51. Christie better not wear fur this winter.

[tabasco]

65. Humans are bloodthirsty, murderous apes

Killing is how humans solve problems.