Bubblehead Les sends me this uplifting story.
Wildlife officials estimate that 200 bears were killed Monday on the first day of the state’s black bear hunt.
State officials have said the six-day hunt is needed to reduce the state’s bruin population, now estimated at about 3,400. But critics say the state’s bear management policy is flawed and was developed arbitrarily.
Animal advocates had gone to court to block the hunt, but they were rebuffed Thursday by a state appellate court. They spent part of Monday securing permission to demonstrate at various bear check stations.
Hunting is hands-down one of the most effective ways to reduce an over-population or a nuisance species. Rather than pay for expensive programs involving sharpshooters poisons, various forms of sterilizations, trappings, and relocation, you can get the public to PAY YOU for permits to harvest species.
“A bear hunt doesn’t solve nuisance complaints, a bear hunt doesn’t protect property, a bear hunt doesn’t protect public safety and the bear hunt will not reduce the population,” says Angie Metler, the spokesperson for the Bear Education and Resource Group.
Well in one day the population was lowered by 200. And those 200 bears won’t damage property or strike up nuisance complaints. (I will agree that overall the Black Bear doesn’t do much for public safety….that being said “property damage” looks a little different when the bear is eating your Labradoodle…and if you try to STOP the bear with anything but a gun you could get VERY hurt)
Surprise, surprise the “bear educator” appears to be an idiot! Also, BTW good work New Jersey for fighting back against these hippies, there are a lot more mentally challenged moonbats in Dirty-Jersey than there are sensible people who like the outdoors and the thrill of the hunt. I’m sure it was an uphill battle.
I sent you that story with some bitterness and jealousy in my Heart, Brother Beard. NEW FRACKING JERSEY allows Bear Hunting, yet I can’t hunt Deer 25 miles from Cleveland, OHIO w/o using an ’89 Buick doing 60 on the Interstate!? IT’S A VOLKSREPUBLIK, for God’s Sake, and they can Hunt Bear!?%^^%%**^%!
“I’m sure it was an uphill battle.” You have no idea… Its been battle that has waged through multiple Governor administrations. 2011 was the 1st time in 6 years that there was consecutive bear hunts.
We have several bears in our neighborhood, but they are not all problem bears.
We had a bear press her nose against my front storm door to look in the house this summer. She showed no fear when the inside door was slammed in its face. She has been tagged twice and her cubs (3) watched from about 20 feet away. So guess what they learned from mommy that day…
Another time I walked out to find a large male on my front yard and it immediately retreated to the woods. He had no tags and wanted nothing to do with humans.
Once the bears that are not afraid of humans (aka-hunters) are culled, I’m sure that the remaining bears will remain far enough away and avoid humans to not pose a problem and not mention become harder to cull and thereby establish a natural balance.
You should get a gun to keep around the house in case one of these problem bears decided to take things too far.
That’s scary about the bear pressing her nose against your window!
Yeah even the ‘smaller’ black bear would have no problem breaking into a house if they wanted to.
I actually know a few people in Maine who had their summer camps broken into during the winter months by hungry bears. It made QUITE the mess.
I thought the same thing, a friend who is cop offered up some rubber slugs/buckshot for my 12 gauge, but that can be a little cumbersome to handle for the wife in a hectic moment when one of nature’s beast comes a knocking down your door.
So we decided to purchase a hand gun but then again we live in NJ, so its an extended bureaucratic process. We’ve been practicing at the range while we wait for the forms to be processed through the state.
Hopefully it won’t happen, but when that sow wakes up from her hibernation and decides to she put her nose against the glass again (or worse), she’s going to get up close and personal with the muzzle of a S&W 357.
Good on you for getting the hand gun, still if there was a bear that showed no fear of people I’d want SOMETHING to the tune of a long-gun.
Probably cheapest and easiest option would to get a used Mossberg 500 or Maverick and load it with slugs. 12ga or 20ga, your choice.
Bears are big and tough a .357 MIGHT hurt them enough to scare them away, and maybe kill them, but I wouldn’t bet my life, my property, or my family on it.
I have to agree with COOP. The problem bears are generally the ones who have lost their fear of humans. These are the ones that will be taken in the hunt because they will make easy targets of themselves. How can this NOT increase public safety and decrease the number of nusiance bear calls?
On the subject of waiting for the paperwork to (finally) come through so that you can buy a handgun with which to protect yourself and your family; it just goes to show how little regard the state has for the individual citizen. Good luck outrunning the bear until the cops arive. That is IF they take a bear call seriously in the first place.
s
Pingback: Something that Should Probably Stop | Weer'd World