Emergency Action Needed For NJ Bears!!!
(Calls to action are listed below).
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy promised during his campaign that if elected, he would place a moratorium on the state's bear hunt. He vowed that 2020 would be the last bear hunt under his administration and that focus would be placed on non-lethal management. Tomorrow the NJ Fish & Game Council is meeting at 10 a.m. at the New Jersey State Museum, 205 West State Street. Amendments, including measures to reintroduce a regulated black bear hunt beginning in December, will be discussed during this meeting. Public testimony at tomorrow's meeting is critical. They need to hear from the people of New Jersey.
The bears killed during the hunt are not the same bears frequenting neighborhoods. Unsecured trash and bear attractants cause these conflicts, and subsequent bear-human conflicts will continue until the real problem is addressed. Non-lethal solutions are available for little or no cost, and residents can make their trashcans bear-resistant (see the video linked below).
Talking Points
*No scientific data supports the claim that hunting reduces bear-human encounters or conflicts. The bears killed during the hunt are not the same bears frequenting neighborhoods. Bear-human conflicts will continue to rise until the root causes are addressed (unsecured trash and other attractants). Non-lethal solutions and educational outreach will resolve these issues, not killing bears out in the woods.
*Deforestation is responsible for the loss of critical bear habitat. Land development and bear attractants such as unsecured trash and bird feeders are most likely the cause of increased bear-human conflicts, not overpopulation.
*Research shows that eliminating bear attractants and securing trash in bear-resistant trash cans can reduce or eliminate conflicts by over 90%.
*Black bears are predominantly vegetarian (90%), with only 5% of their diet consisting of meat, usually carrion. They are NOT the vicious man-eaters that bear trophy hunters and corrupt politicians would like you to believe.
*Unprovoked bear attacks are rare. According to bear expert Lynn Rogers, Ph.D. of the North American Bear Center says, you are 45 times more likely to be killed by a dog, 120 times more likely to be killed by bees, and 60,000 times more likely to be murdered by another human being than to be killed by a black bear.
*Bears regulate their own populations through a biological process known as delayed implantation. Delayed implantation allows bears to control their populations. When food is abundant, more bears will be born. When there is a lack of abundant food sources, female bears will not reproduce every two years but, alternatively, every three to four years.
*Wildlife is a public trust - and we, the people, have a right to defend animals for the benefit of those living today and those yet to come. It's time for wildlife agencies to rely on science and ethics, not profits and politics. Wildlife does not belong to the hunters or wildlife agencies. We ALL have a say and what happens to the bears.
PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING CALLS TO ACTION.
Contact Governor Murphy and tell him NO to reinstating the bear hunt.
Call: 609-292-6000.
Email: Constituent.relations@nj.gov
Attend tomorrow's NJ Fish and Game Council hearing in Trenton.
Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.
Location: New Jersey State Museum, 205 West State Street.
Email the NJ Fish and Wildlife Councils/Committees
njfishandwildlife@dep.nj.gov
Sign & share our petition.
https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-new-jersey-bear-hunt-4f4a4bfc-cb1b-468e-b6bd-5f254e17fb71
Learn how to make your trashcan bear-resistant here.
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