NJ Bear Hunt

The usual weeping and gnashing of teeth is going on in New Jersey over the bear hunt. It'll be interesting if to see if there are any arrests of people interfering with hunters. I doubt there will be, mainly because it's something that is pretty hard to prove unless there's a game warden standing there. But to the report.

Animal rights activists say they'll be in the woods this morning, too, attempting to rescue wounded bears. The state Division of Fish & Wildlife, meanwhile, has warned that anyone caught interfering with the hunt will be prosecuted.

"We're not going to interfere with the hunt," said Lynda Smith, director of the Bear Education and Resource Group of West Milford. "But if a hunter loses an animal in the woods and fails to track it, then we'll attempt to rescue it. And some people are willing to get arrested."

Wonder how many of the Bear Huggers will get mauled trying to come to the aid of an injured bear.

The state has set no limit on the number of bears that may be killed, but Environmental Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell can call off the hunt anytime he believes too many have been killed.

An interesting way of turning a phrase, don't you think? Why is it "too many" rather than a "sufficient number" have been killed. Sounds strange to me, especially from the Environmental Commissioner.

Of course they also go into an interview that tells how unpleasant it is to kill and drag out of the woods and how the meat isn't very pleasant. I'm not going to quote it, it's just too foolish.

Two years ago, New Jersey held its first bear hunt since 1970, and hunters killed 328 bears.

After that hunt, the number of bear complaints dipped in 2004. The Fish and Game Council wanted to hold another hunt last year, but Campbell blocked it, saying that New Jersey should experiment with non-lethal means of population control.

The state Supreme Court sided with Campbell but ordered New Jersey to update its bear management policy before it could hold another hunt.

Campbell, who has supported this year's hunt, points to a rise in the number of bear complaints in 2005 as evidence that the bruin population needs another thinning. Bear complaints have risen from 1,126 between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1, 2004, to 1,677 during the same period this year.

Some critics have taken issue that the rise in bear complaints is proof the bear population is exploding.

I got quite a laugh over the "non-lethal means of population control." What's that? Bear condoms? The pill or the patch for the sow? And if you're going to experiment, why stop the hunt? It's not like there is going to be a solution in such a short period of time.

Well, it's humorous at least. I'll be watching for the bear mauling reports in NJ.