241 Bears Killed In State-Sanctioned Hunt

NORTH JERSEY, NJ — Nearly 250 bears were killed during the six-day hunt, numbers from the state Department of Environmental Protection show.

Of the 241 bears harvested, 52 were killed Saturday, the last day of the hunt.

Most of the bears, 135, were harvested in Sussex County. Warren County had the next highest with 48, followed by Morris at 34 and Passaic with 20.

There bruins were killed in Hunterdon County and just one was killed in Bergen, the numbers show.

The number of bruins killed this year marks a significant decrease in the number of harvested bears compared to last year when 562 were killed.

About 50 protesters spoke out against the hunt at the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area, NorthJersey.com reported. Bill Crain, an animal rights activist, was arrested after he left the designated protest zone. It was the eighth time he was arrested at a bear hunt, according to the report.

The state has said the hunt is held to help control the state's black bear population. But groups like the Sierra Club do not agree with that reasoning.

"Each year, New Jersey loses thousands of acres of land in bear country. One of the reasons for pushing the hunt is because developers want to sell more condos. The more we build houses in the middle of the woods where bears live, the more conflict we will see between bears and humans," Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club said in a statement issued before the hunt began. "We will never have a real bear management plan unless we deal with garbage, educate the public about how to live in bear country, and protect their habitat. There needs to be warning signs in bear country with post at all trailheads with Do’s and Don’ts in bear country. We also need to teach people how to bear-proof their property, including the importance of having no garbage at night and bear proof containers. These will do a lot more in managing the bear population than having an unnecessary hunt."

This is the 10th bear hunt in New Jersey since 2003. The hunt has been held every year since 2010. Last year was the first time hunters could use bows and arrows in 46 years.

The second bear hunting segment will be held in December.

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