At Least 177 Black Bears Killed On First Day Of Hunt: Report

RIDGEWOOD, NJ - On the first day of New Jersey’s black bear hunting season, at least 177 of the animals were killed, The Record reported.

The weather lended itself to good conditions for the start of the six-, and possibly, 10-day long weapons hunt. As of Monday morning, the state had sold 8,200 black bear permits, up from 7,900 in 2014, The Record reported.

Hunters can roam the six North Jersey territories until Dec.12 and cull one black bear each. The state expanded the territories this year and an additional four days of hunting may be implemented in case of inclement weather during the initial hunt.

The New Jersey Sierra Club said Monday that the hunt is purely for sport and not, as state officials have said, to do with keeping the bear population under control and eliminate aggressive bears.

“When New Jersey said we needed a hunt it was to protect public safety and to get rid of aggressive bears,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “After five years of a hunt just the opposite has happened; we have seen aggressive bear incidents increase.”

The high water mark for the hunt came in 2010 when 592 bears were killed. The amount decreased drastically in each of the next two years, with 469 in 2011 and 287 in 2012; 251 were killed in 2013 and 272 were hunted last year.

The DEP said more than 3,000 black bears are still roaming northern New Jersey, similar to the number that was tallied before the 2010 hunt began.

The hunt is also designed to cut down on the number of aggressive bears found in the hunting area.

Ramapo Valley Reservation in Mahwah was closed in October and Ramapo Mountain State Forest was closed for two weeks due to hikers encountering an aggressive bear there. The state euthanized a black bear Oct. 5 that was caught in a trap. The bear had allegedly been aggressive towards hikers at Ramapo Mountain State Forest.

The Sierra Club claims the hunts do not help reduce the number of aggressive bear encounters.

“There have been hunts in the Ramapo Forest for the past five years and there is still have a problem with aggressive bears,” Tittel said. “Real progress won’t be made until we have a real management plan that includes education, garbage management, and enforcement of the bear feeding rules.”