Council Approves Additional New Jersey Bear Hunt For 2016, Expanded Area
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - New Jersey's bear hunt could be expanded.
The state Fish and Game Council on Tuesday approved adding an October hunt, expanding the geographic area of the hunt and increasing the number of bears hunters can claim.
The policy must be approved by the Environmental Protection Department's commissioner and would be subjected to a 60-day public comment period.
The new policy authorizes another hunt in December. Next year, two hunts would be held, one in October and one in December.
Council Approves Additional New Jersey Bear Hunt For 2016, Expanded Area
"Weather has been pretty much a concern in early December," DEP Spokesman Larry Hanja told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman.
Bows and arrows will now be allowed, Silverman reported.
This year, hunting will be permitted in all of Hunterdon, Somerset and Morris counties, plus small parts of Passaic and Mercer counties.
However, some critics, like the Sierra Club's Jeff Tittel, are not in favor of the expanded hunt.
"We have an administration that believes that if something doesn't work, you just do it more often," Titttel said.
"It's hard to sell condos to people from New York City if they see bears walking through the woods, so I think it has more to do with that," he said.
While nearly 2,000 bears have been killed in the last five hunts, the DEP says bear-human interactions increased by 60 percent last year.
Tittel said the real way to get rid of nuisance bears is to teach people how to handle their food and garbage. The DEP said education is part of the plan.
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