The December portion of New Jersey’s Black Bear Hunt started today. The firearm segment will end December 12^th unless it is extended to the 19^th. The first segment of the 2020 New Jersey Bear Hunt has killed 336 bears. In Sussex county, a total of 152 bears were killed, 89 bears killed in Warren County, 63 bears killed in Morris county, 21 bears killed in Passaic, 7 bears killed in Hunterdon, 1 bear killed in Somerset.

“The bear hunt is on, the killing continues and Governor Murphy has failed to use his power to stop the hunt. Over 336 bears have already been killed in this year’s private hunt. Enough is enough already. Murphy has the authority to stop the hunt just like Whitman, McGreevey, and Corzine did and yet he is still not doing anything to stop it. Instead the Murphy Administration is putting out more spin that this year’s hunt will be the last. We have major concerns that it won’t, and the Game Code Proposal that Murphy’s touts will just cause more confusion and cover for not stopping the black bear hunt,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

The second segment which includes firearms only is scheduled to begin and end on the 12^th unless extended. Essex County recently canceled their deer hunt because of COVID. Other states have also canceled bear hunts because of the health pandemic.

“Murphy is putting our bears and the public at risk. Not only will this hunt bring a lot of people to bear county all over the state, but 100s of people will be coming from out of state. There will be 1,000s of hunters in the woods outside. People will be coming into the state, using services, intermixing, and will increase the chances of the virus to spread. We are entering a worse second wave and Governor Murphy should follow Essex County’s lead and cancel the bear hunt,” said Tittel. “There is no reason for the hunt. It is unnecessary and Governor Murphy has the authority to cancel it. Other states have already stopped hunts because of the coronavirus, Murphy should too.”

The NJ Sierra Club recently submitted comments on the proposed 2020-21 Game Code N.J.A.C 7:25-5. It provides when, under what circumstances, in what location, by what means, and what amounts and numbers, game-birds, game animals and fur-bearing animals may be pursued, taken, killed or had in possession.

“Unfortunately, this year’s hunt will not be the last bear hunt in New Jersey. We don’t believe the rule change is going to stop the bear hunt in New Jersey. The reason is the separating of the CMP from the Game Code. The Game Council is not going to adopt the rule to stop the hunt. This is also a major shift in power that will remove DEP from oversight from the Game Code. By adopting this rule, DEP is basically weakening their oversight and authority. The DEP separating the bear policy out of the Game Code transfers authority from the DEP to the Fish and Game. It also takes away one of the strongest tools for the Commissioner to stop the bear hunt,” said Tittel.

In August, a coalition of twelve organizations including the NJ Sierra Club, the Humane Society of the United States and The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a petition with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection under the Administrative Procedures Act to repeal rules permitting bear hunting and the Department’s Comprehensive Bear Management Policy. The coalition also sent a letter to Governor Murphy asking him to issue an Executive Order to stop the bear hunt. By stopping the hunt, it would allow the state to come up with a better management plan that actually manages bears, not just hunting them.

“If Governor Murphy really wanted to end the bear hunt, he could have signed an EO cancelling the hunt or because of the COVID health pandemic and the fact that hundreds of hunters are coming out of state to New Jersey. The Murphy Administration and DEP would not accept our petition to stop the bear hunt even though that is what the law says. The state also needs to transition from hunting to a real non- lethal management plan, one that includes strong education and uses warning signs in the region, education materials at trail heads, enforcing not feeding bears, and garbage management. By stopping the hunt, it would allow the state to come up with a better management plan that actually manages bears, not just hunting them,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.