As expected, the New Jersey Fish and Game Council’s (Council) “emergency” bear hunt in December of 2022 is revealed to be a sham, according to the Animal Protection League of New Jersey.

The group is now urging the Murphy administration to reject the pending black bear hunt proposal.

In November of 2022, the Council inflated the bear population estimates and convinced the governor and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner to approve an “emergency” bear hunt. The data shows that the bear population is less than half of the Council’s claim. In their “emergency” bear hunt policy, the Council claimed that the bear population was 3,158 bears in 2020 and the bear population would exceed 4,000 in two years. But data from the 2022 bear hunt revealed only 1,614 bears.

The 2022 bear hunt data revealed that of the 114 killed, 13 were tagged bears, and the total number of bears tagged in 2022 was 184. Using the Lincoln Peterson Index (the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s preferred method for estimating the bear population), the ratio of killed tagged bears to total tagged bears is 13/184, which means the ratio of killed bears to total bears is 114/1,614, which shows a total of 1,614 bears.

The situation is strongly reminiscent of the 2003 bear hunt, where the data showed that the bear population was less than half of what the Council had estimated. As a result, Bradley Campbell, the NJDEP Commissioner at the time, canceled the 2004 bear hunt.

The 2022 bear complaints were also inflated, as demonstrated by the Division’s November 2022 presentation about their new black bear website launched in the spring of 2022. The Division’s new bear site urges the public to call in with bear complaints, which caused bear complaints to increase in 2022, while the Division bragged about the 18 million impressions and “brand lift” they received from the website. Furthermore, the increases in bear complaints were exaggerated. In one example, the number of Category I complaints went from 1 in 2021 to 4 in January 1, 2022-February 21, 2022, which caused the Council to say there was a “300% increase” in complaints.

While the council managed to deceive the governor and the commissioner, they have not fooled the public. 83.7% of the public comments on the pending black bear hunt proposal opposed the entire proposal.

Scientific studies across the USA and Canada show that controlling bear attractants is the best way to reduce human/bear conflicts. Other communities have drastically reduced bear complaints with bear-resistant trash cans and dumpsters.

Angi Metler, APLNJ executive director, points out, “No matter how many bears there are if a residential neighborhood has unsecured garbage, that garbage will attract bears. But the Council has no interest in reducing bear complaints because they use the complaints to justify their trophy hunts.”

Doris Lin, APLNJ legal director, states, “We urge the Murphy Administration to do the right thing and cancel this bear hunt. The 2022 emergency hunt was based on scare tactics and exaggerated bear population estimates, and so is the current bear hunt proposal.”

Under state law, 6 of the 11 members of the Fish and Game Council are chosen by private hunting clubs, creating a Council with a heavy bias in favor of recreational hunting. The Council’s proposed bear policy would include two bear hunt seasons every year for seven years, regardless of the number of bears or the number of bear complaints.