December Bear Hunt in NJ

First, let me say that I am an animal activist. I don't believe in hunting and I don't believe in mistreating any animal for any reason. With that said, I am appalled at the proposed upcoming December bear hunt, just after we had one in December 2010 which culled (or killed) 600 bears. This is in response to bears roaming into towns and yards to forage for food, however, many of the bears killed are not in towns but in New Jersey's northwest counties where most bears live in harmony with nature, away from human populations.

I have had bears on my property here in Butler throughout my 30-year residence. One was eating a frozen chicken that may have gotten off of someone's back deck (certainly not the bear's fault) and another time three baby bears were passing through my yard after midnight and were scared up my trees by my great watch dog, Brinkley. Then, when he came inside, the bears went on their way. No fuss and no bother. Bears are very skittish so if you have one on your property, send out the dog to scare them away or bang two pot covers together. They will not stay and fight unless they feel cornered.

I have said during the last ten years that the bears and deer have no place to call home anymore. If you go up and down Route 23 in our neck of the woods, we see shopping malls. That land used to be a natural refuge for our wildlife, but now they have nowhere to go. Without the forest or wooded areas, they have no food and thus they come roaming around into our neighborhoods looking for food for their young ones or themselves. What else are they to do?

I have also heard complaints about deer eating everything on neighbor's properties, including my own, but I have no problem with it. If people would plant deer resistant or deer proof plants (any of the mints and day lilies), there would be no problem. They have a right to survive as well. How many deer have been killed by hunters and by automobiles recently? Too many. There is nowhere for our wildlife to live.

If planning or zoning boards would stop making our communities a cement coffin by allowing everyone to build more condos, townhouses, apartments, shopping malls and eateries (really, in today's economy how many more homes and shopping malls do we really need?), the wildlife in our area would be able to find a natural habitat to call home and would leave our communities alone. I am sure they would rather stay in a wooded area with the security of tree cover than to be wandering into unknown territories, but out of necessity to eat, they must.

So, with that in mind, cover your garbage cans tightly (bear-resistant containers are a wonderful deterrent), keep your bird feeders away from your home and empty them each evening and make sure that your BBQ grill is cleaned and covered after you have used it so it is not tempting to wildlife.

Mankind has a way of using up resources, as we have seen in the past. Many animals are now extinct because of us. It would be terrible one day if your grandchild or great grandchild asks, "What's this animal, grandma?" and it is a picture of a bear under the extinct column of the book.

Do we want bears roaming around our streets? No. Do we have to kill every bear in the state of New Jersey? No. A new study should be done to see how to keep the bears in the wooded areas or how to relocate them. Compromises have to be made, but at what cost? Killing is never the answer.

Please make your voice known to Governor Christie. We do not need another bear hunt this soon. Six hundred lives were already extinguished last year. Enough is enough.