Last Minute Plea To Halt NJ Bear Hunt

by Sherry Morse

Following a federal judge's ruling stopping a decades-old pheasant hunt in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, bear advocates in New Jersey have asked national park officials to intervene to prevent the planned bear hunt in the state for similar reasons.

The pheasant hunt was postponed until the National Park Service (NPS) has studied the impact of the hunt on the Cape Code National Seashore environment.

Animal advocates opposed to the bear hunt have now asked for a similar review by the National Park Service, since they estimate a quarter of the land where the bear hunt will be taking place is in the Delaware Water Gap recreation area.

The request was made in late November in a letter sent to the superintendent of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

The Fund for Animals, an animal advocacy group involved in the Massachusetts case, helped draft the letter which was signed by prominent conservationists, biologists and animal protection groups.

Michael A. Markarian, the Fund for Animal's president, told the New York Times that, "They have to take a hard look as to what this means in terms of environmental impact."

The Delaware Water Gap contains more than 67,000 acres of park land which is home to more than 130 species of rare and endangered plants, mammals and birds, including bald eagles.

The bear hunt is scheduled to start on December 8. So far, about 6700 hunters have applied for licenses to participate.

According to the groups which sent the letter, The NPS has failed to set limits on how many hunters enter the park and how many bears may be killed in the park.

In addition, the NPS has not reviewed the environmental impact of the hunt on the bear population or on the population of threatened or endangered species in the park.

The recent sentencing of a West Milford man who shot a bear that he maintains was threatening his family underscores the tensions that exist between bears and humans in the "Garden State".

Patrick Flynn was fined $100 after pleading guilty to illegally injuring a bear which he shot in early June with a shotgun.

Martin McHugh, director of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, said, "We continue to hope that people who come into contact with bears use shooting them as a last resort if they feel their safety is threatened and (they) can't do anything else."

McHugh advised people who come into contact with bears to call police and let trained officers handle the animal.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.