Bear Hunts

Nearly all Black Bears outside of National Parks die from human related causes. Killing for necessities is understandable, but hunting as a sport is murder. The state of New Jersey has conducted two annual bear hunts, two times where innocent animals were murdered. A state bear hunt disrupts animal rights, punishes bears for human actions, and is an inhumane sport; therefore, the New Jersey government should not allow anymore state bear hunts.

There is no doubt that animal rights are greatly disrupted in a state bear hunt. In fact, the New Jersey Department of Environment Protection starts that 120 out of 182 bears killed (66%) one day on a bear hunt were females, and generally no more than 35-45% of female bears should be killed. "When the proportion of the female kill exceeds 40%, there is a danger that the population is being over exploited. Continuing this hunt may cause long-term irreparable harm to the population."

In fact, humans are as much to blame for all the bears in the area as the bears themselves. Bear generally avoid humans, but pet food, garbage, bird feeders and barbecue grills attract them. Once bears find food they will likely return for more, so citizens should bear-proof, not bear-hunt. Additionally, bear attacks are uncommon. Most encounters are because the bears are surprised, protecting their young, or following food odors. An effective way to get rid of a bear if encountered is to use bear spray, spray that produces and odor only bears can smell, which will make the bear leave.

Equally important is the fact that bear hunting is an inhumane sport. The New Jersey division of Fish and Wildlife stated that the purpose of a bear hunt was to reduce human/bear conflicts but later called it a "sport hunt". With this in mind, bears are still listed as a game species. In a Delaware bear hunt, the National Part Service failed to set limits on how many hunters can hunt and how many bears can