On the final day of New Jersey’s last bear hunt in 2005, Mark Utter bagged a bruin that required eight hunters to lift into a flat-bottom boat, so it could be pulled out of the woods with an ATV. At nearly 750 pounds, it was the largest black bear ever killed in the state. But on the eve of...
On the final day of New Jersey’s last bear hunt in 2005, Mark Utter bagged a bruin that required eight hunters to lift into a flat-bottom boat, so it could be pulled out of the woods with an ATV.
At nearly 750 pounds, it was the largest black bear ever killed in the state.
But on the eve of New Jersey’s first bear hunt since then, Utter says he cares about the purpose of the hunt as much as the sport of it.
"I think there’s a need for control," Utter said. "You see the state constantly trapping bear and trying to move them, and you wonder why we go through all of that trouble and expense when the hunters can control the population by having a bear season. To me, it’s all about having a little common sense."
Starting tomorrow, 30 minutes before sunrise, hunters will have six days in seven counties, mostly in the northwest, to reduce the bear population. State officials estimate there are 3,400 bears in New Jersey, double the population of 2001. They anticipate the hunt will remove 300 to 400 animals, roughly the same number of bear cubs expected to be born early next year.
But with around 7,000 permits awarded for the hunt — compared with 5,000 issued in 2005 — there will be increased competition for the larger population. State biologist Kelcey Burguess said this hunt — the third since in 2003 — will attract hunters from Pennsylvania and New York, as well as a few from places as far away as Missouri and even Alaska.
"We have some people coming from some pretty far distances," Burguess said. "We’re looking to stabilize the population, at best."
There are those, however, who have taken aim at the state’s plan.
Two animal-rights groups — the Animal Protection League of New Jersey and the New Jersey Bear Education and Resource Group — lost an appeal in appellate court Friday and the state Supreme Court yesterday to halt the hunts. The groups argued New Jersey has actually seen fewer reports of serious incidents involving black bears than state officials have said.
Last month, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin rejected a stay of the hunt, citing a need for it due to an increased bear population and residents’ concerns about safety.
Animal Protection League Executive Director Angi Metler says bear hunts fail to control the population. The group maintains bears are a self-regulating species whose reproductive rate reduces to what the environment can sustain and that a black bear feeding ban is not effectively enforced by authorities. Metler, a Vernon resident, said she sees bears weekly, but is vigilant about keeping her property free of debris.
"I live in bear country. My house is bear-proof," Metler said.
Esther Schaeffer, a longtime resident of Sussex County, said bears come into her backyard, but maintained the hunt is "a solution without thought.
"We’ve never felt threatened," she said. "The bears run away when they’re scared. In other states, they use rubber bullets and dogs to scare the bears off and they never come back. Here, it’s all propaganda."
Stu Chaifetz, an investigator for Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, said last week the hunt is "payback" for support thrown to Gov. Chris Christie’s campaign last year by a pro-hunting political action committee called the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance. The charge was dismissed by a Christie campaign strategist and Anthony Mauro, chairman of the alliance.
Chaifetz maintains a "lust for killing" is at the heart of the hunt.
"I’ve been to weigh stations where they bring the dead bears, and you see just the callous disregard for life," he said. "The only reason why it happens was because someone wanted a trophy.
Mark Utter is seen with his 750-pound bear he hunted in 2005 at his home in Montague."These bears have an excellent track record of living with us. They’re really co-existing with us in a world we created with them."
But Mauro insists a culling of the bear population in areas north of Route 78 and west of Route 287 is needed and overdue.
"We’ve got too many bears," Mauro said. "If I was in the northwest part of the state, I’d want that population reduced.
"We’re conservationists. We’re environmentalists. Isn’t harvesting a deer more environmentally friendly than going to the store and buying cow?"
The bear hunt has been a very passionate issue for some, with opposing sides directing arguments — and insults — in internet forums and Facebook sites. Last month, a Fairleigh Dicksinson University PublicMind poll found 53 percent of voters agree with the hunt if "wildlife scientists conclude that bears are exceeding recommended limits and destroying public property."
From Jan. 1 to July 20, the state Division of Fish and Wildlife says it recorded one bear attack on a person, three unprovoked attacks on dogs, 26 livestock kills, 23 attempted home entries, 27 successful home entries, three vehicle entries, 74 vehicle strikes, 13 aggressive behavior incidents, 526 nuisance incidents and 301 garbage raids by bears, plus 548 bear sightings.
But an independent survey conducted this year by Rutgers University chemistry professor Edward Tavss found duplication of bear complaints resulted in "inflated" bear complaint numbers by Fish and Wildlife. After the results were released in early October, Martin and the DEP staunchly defended its records and said an internal audit found that less than 1 percent of 3,000 bear complaints registered by the agency in 2008 and 2009 resulted from duplication of information.
George Daunte of Wildlife Preservations, a taxidermist in West Paterson, said many customers who hunt are "excited" about the coming week and the opportunity to "take a wonderful animal." But he said the anticipation has also extended to sportsmen who won’t take part in the hunt and to their families.
"These are people who are afraid to let their kids out in the backyard," Daunte said. "They literally can’t have a barbecue. Something needs to be done."
Responding to the contention of animal-rights activists that there have been no recorded deaths or serious injuries due to bear attacks in New Jersey, Daunte countered: "The key word is ‘yet.’ People don’t realize, you take a 500- or 600-pound bear — even if he’s your best friend — if he’s steps on you, he’s crushing your ribs.
"If the number of bears entering private properties continues to increase, tragedy might be inevitable."
Lee Hall, of Friends of Animals in Chester, Pa., holds up a stuffed bear dressed as a lawmaker as she speaks before animal rights activists outside the Statehouse on Friday afternoon protesting the upcoming bear hunt.While bear sightings have occurred in all of New Jersey’s 21 counties, state officials have created four bear management zones.
The highest bear densities occur in Zone 1, covering parts of Sussex and Warren counties along the Delaware River, and Zone 3, in the north-central part of the state in Sussex, Passaic, Morris and Bergen counties. Zone 2 stretches over parts of Sussex, Warren and Morris counties, while Zone 4 includes parts of southern Warren County and northern Hunterdon County. Zone 4, according to Larry Ragonese, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, has seen an increase in its bear population.
The state requires all participants to complete an education seminar. A hunter who bags a bear must bring it to one of five check-in stations staffed by state employees.
Only one permit is allowed per hunter, and the season bag limit is one black bear. Any black bear, regardless of gender, size or age, is legal to shoot.
Bill Washer Sr., a 51-year-old hunter from Ogdensburg, said he’ll be deer hunting this week, but will have his shotgun loaded with legal slugs should a bear come within his range.
"If a bear stumbles upon me, he’s going to have a bad day," Washer said.
Weather may play a part in the hunt. Snow on the ground, as there was in 2005 and 2003, allows hunters to track the animals and improves their chances, state officials say. In 2003, there were 328 bears taken. Five years ago, the kill number was 297.
The commissioner reserves the right to close the season before its six-day run is over, according to state rules.
Just the taking of one animal will be unbearable to some. Elaine Dunn, vice president of educational programs for the New Jersey Bear Education and Resource Group, said she has lived in "bear country" for almost 14 years and have seen two bears that "couldn’t get away from me fast enough."
"The DEP needs to provide non-lethal bear management," she said. "They rarely do educational seminars to teach communities how to coexist with bears. They don’t ticket people for breaking the feeding ban.
"There are those who love animals and want to protect them by coexisting with them. Unfortunately, there are those on the other hand, that enjoy the thrill of the kill."
By Tom Haydon and Bob Considine/The Star-Ledger
Staff reporter Seth Augenstein contributed to this report.