Myth, WTF are you doing at yer computer? You should be out with Chimpbo, stalking the wild New Jersey grizzly!<G>
It would be a hoot if this marks the tippy-top, HMMmmmmm.....
nytimes.com
December 5, 2005
New Jersey Begins 2nd Bear Hunt in 35 Years
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:15 p.m. ET
VERNON, N.J. (AP) -- A bear hunt aimed at thinning New Jersey's burgeoning bear population got under way Monday with hunters venturing out in freezing temperatures to try their luck -- and opponents turning out to denounce them.
The six-day season is expected to lure about 5,000 hunters to New Jersey's rural northwestern counties. Animal rights groups had unsuccessfully challenged plans for the hunt, approved by the state because of increasing numbers of bear sightings and complaints.
Rich Cutting, 41, took the week off from work in hopes of bagging his first bear in a lifetime of hunting.
''I'm hoping to get lucky. Hopefully, it won't take all week,'' said Cutting, who bundled up in two sets of thermal underwear and set off in Wawayanda State Park at about 5:40 a.m., a 12-gauge shotgun in hand.
The first bear killed arrived at a weigh station in Wawayanda at 9:30 a.m.
The hunt is restricted to an area of about 1,600 square miles in the state's northwest corner, with hunters required to use shotguns or old-fashioned muzzle-loading rifles.
The state's last bear hunt was in 2003, when 328 were killed. That was the first bear season since 1970, when hunts were suspended because the black bear population had dropped to about 100.
Today, the population is estimated at 1,600 to 3,200, and the loss of habitat to development is forcing many of the animals to seek food in populated areas.
Animal welfare groups say the hunt is cruel and unnecessary, but their legal arguments were rejected in two courts. On Monday, about a dozen people gathered at a weighing station to denounce the hunt.
''It's a slaughter of innocent black bears,'' said Ken Vassilatos, 47, of Pine Bush, N.Y., who wore a T-shirt with the image of a tearful bear and cub.
About 50 people were fanning out into the woods to search for wounded bears and document what they saw, according to Lynda Smith, president of BEAR, which stands for Bear Education and Research.
Hunters and the state say the hunt -- which coincides with white-tailed deer season -- is necessary, given the bears' increasing incursions into backyards.
Last July, a 142-pound bear bit the leg of a sleeping camper at High Point State Park in northwestern New Jersey. The camper's injuries were minor. The bear, a female, was shot by a state biologist. A month earlier near Atlantic City, a 150-pound bear rummaged through garbage cans during a weeklong stay. |
