Recently there have been several reports of a bear walking upright in Jefferson Township — likely due to injuries to his foreleg(s). While no one knows how this bear was injured, we've seen other bears with similar injuries that were caused by snare traps routinely used by the hunter-backed state agency — New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) in the name of research for hunting purposes.

Snare traps are strong wires that wrap tightly around the bear's limb when he steps into it. As the panicked bear tries to free himself, the wire digs deeper and deeper into his limb, causing extreme pain, fear, and injury. These cruel devices are not selective, so other animals have been caught in these traps as well.

We have strong photographic and eyewitness evidence of the grievous injuries that snare traps cause. Please sign our petition demanding that DFW abolish the use of these cruel and archaic devices. We also ask residents to refrain from feeding this bear, since DFW might label this bear a nuisance and have him shot and killed.