"Human Rights, Yea Right"

 

The animal-rights/anti-hunters have tried throughout this year, as in years past, to inundate Governor Corzine and DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson with e-mails and phone calls to keep this issue a “political-matter” rather than a “wildlife management” issue.

 

Unfortunately, both Governor Corzine and Lisa Jackson have absolutely no experience in this matter and have picked up the “Whitman Baton” of yielding to the “non-lethal” approach of wildlife population control. Non-lethal, is a “Non-Solution”, it is a diversion created by animal-rights/anti-hunting groups in New Jersey in order to prolong the inevitable; a black bear hunt.

 

This is what it comes down to; we have a Governor and DEP Commissioner that have no idea of what it is like to live in black bear country, to lose the freedom of your tax paid for property, to have children and each day worry about those children becoming the victim of the roaming, overpopulated black bear, they don’t see domestic pets and livestock lost, nor do they feel for the owners.

 

 

What they know is that the well organized, but actual minority, of animal-right/anti-hunters have made more noise than the majority of citizens that really support hunting as a proven method of wildlife population control. Animal rights activists that have managed to portray a wild black bear as some sort of abused animal that should have the right to conduct criminal activities and threaten human safety. Animal rights activists that have a platform of anti-hunting under the guise of protecting the black bear. Animal rights activists that have played a minor, if any, role in wildlife management as compared to the professional Fish and Wildlife and biologists that successfully brought about the resurgence of black bears in New Jersey and throughout the country in all species of wildlife. This is not about just hunters you see, as the anti’s quickly point to approximately 130,000 hunters as a rather small group whose rights should be quickly dismissed, but millions, yes millions, of non-hunting citizens that have no issues with legal hunting and are sick and tired of the infringement on human life and safety created by black bears.

 

So how do we get this message to the Governor and DEP Commissioner? Follow the lead of the anti’s; inundate their offices with your support of a hunt based on the following:

 

Black bear complaints have drastically risen this year and house break-ins in particular, have risen and it is this activity that demonstrates the failure of garbage security and adverse conditioning. It is also these break-ins that pose a major threat to human safety.

 

Garbage security and adverse conditioning have absolutely no effect on maintaining a safe, co-existing number of black bears to human density. No; garbage control will not lead to a reduction in the black bear population, nor will adverse conditioning, nor will failed sterilization; wrong, incorrect antis’ rhetoric.

 

Twenty-six (26) out of twenty-seven (27) states with large black bear population, all, yes all, yes all, include hunting as the primary and proven, successful method of black bear population control.

 

Twenty-six (26) out of twenty-seven (27) states with large black bear population, all, yes all, yes all, allow their Fish and Wildlife, professionals and biologists to determine how to control wildlife populations through regulated hunting to cull the numbers and bring about a safe co-existing level.

 

The only state in the United States that interferes in the wildlife management process; you got it, New Jersey.

 

Listen, you know who you are; mothers running about taking care of children, coaching team sports, participating in other community projects, girl scouts, working, etc. Fathers working and trying to pitch in with child rearing and community issues, maybe coaching a little league team, cub and boy scouts, etc. Just plain and simple citizens with responsibilities that do not allow you to dream up false remedies to protect a wild black bear that has become overpopulated, intrusive, aggressive and disrupted human rights, nor the time to constantly write politicians’.

 

It is however, up to all of you, all of us to combat the anti’s because just plain common sense, coupled with the increases in black bear problems, tell the truth; we are in trouble and it will get worse unless the black bear population is culled through hunting as was successfully accomplished in 2003 and 2005.This is not a scare tactic; this is not misleading information because the truth has been clearly presented by the black bear and its antic, it is fact.Contact : note the last page herein after addresses

Governor Corzine DEP Commissioners’ Office

Office of The Governor Lisa P. Jackson

P.O. Box 001 401 E. State Street

Trenton, New Jersey 08625 P.O. Box 402

(609) 292-6000 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0402

Phone: 609-292-2885

Fax: 609-292-7695

Simply advise both the Governor and DEP Commissioner, that the non-lethal approach is a failure and the longer they delay a black bear hunt to satisfy the anti’s the worst it will become. Hunting is the only proven method of population control as out of the past eight (8) years in New Jersey only the two years of hunting reduced complaints. In addition, (26) other states that have large black bear populations have successfully used hunting as the primary method of black bear population control for decades and they maintain healthy black bear populations and reduced human interaction.

If you feel like it also mention the unfair charges placed against Jefferson resident Teri Daubner, whose Rottweiler dog killed a trespassing small black bear on her own property a few weeks ago. The NJSPCA has filed charges “on behalf of the bear” along with the state that could lead to six (6) months in jail.

This non-sense has to be stopped immediately, taxpayers money and court time will be wasted and imagine a human being put in jail, perhaps with hardened criminals, for a dog killing a trespassing “wild black bear”.

Let them get away with this and it could be you, your family or friends next. Don’t kid yourself, this could happen to you.

Write, fax, call do all three, get to your family and friends let them be aware and if they agree have them do the same. We are out of time if the hunt does not go through this year we are in trouble, if a human is put in jail because her domestic pet killed an overpopulated, trespassing wild black bear, we are in deeper trouble.

Mike D

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have conducted research on Black Bears since 2000 when New Jersey began to experience the first signs of a fast growing bear population. I have provided factual reports, met with DEP representatives for fact gathering prior to the 2003 black bear hunt and corresponded with NJF&G, Governors, Whitman, McGreevey, acting Governor Cody and current Governor Corzine, as well as, former DEP Commissioners’ Bradely Campbell and current Commissioner Lisa Jackson.

A bear enjoys bird seed from the comfort of someone's deck

In addition, I have written OP-EDS for local newspapers and responded to over 100 letters to the editors regarding this issue.

This year, New Jersey residents are on the brink of experiencing the most dangerous black bear threat to date. New Jersey is among (27) other states that have a thriving black bear population (26) of those states allow the Fish and Game, Wildlife Biologists to determine the methods for maintaining a black bear population that allows for a “safe” co-existence with human beings.

In New Jersey, the anti-hunting and animal rights groups, of which many are not even located or living in New Jersey, have succeeded in using emotional tactics and hunting to mask the black bear overpopulation and problems and turn it into a political issue.

There isn’t much science needed however, when black bear activity has risen to the current levels and where complaints, garage and house break-in’s have reached an all time high. Domestic animals have been killed, people attacked and the right to enjoy the privacy of our own backyards, public parks and state lands infringed upon by the overpopulated black bear.

Making matters worse is the overpopulation now flowing into every county in N.J. in towns like Upper Saddle River, Paramus, South Brunswick, Trenton, Paterson to name a few.

The anti-hunting/animal-rights groups have thrown every excuse possible to the political winds; testing of bear resistant garbage cans, contraception, hunters wanting “trophy-hunts”, Fish and Game needing a black bear hunt to support their salaries, inaccurate count of the current black bear population.

Garbage control which is important, as it was years ago for overpopulated raccoons, will not solve the actual problem, overpopulation, and the remainder are simply excuses set forth as delay tactics.

New Jersey has too many black bears and not enough natural habitant to support the population. Development of woods and forest lands and increases in human population require that the black bear population be maintained to a specific number of bears per square mile as determined by geographical locations.

In addition, in counties like Sussex, Passaic, Morris and Warren and towns like Blairstown, Branchville, Stillwater, Vernon, Wantage, West Milford, Oak Ridge, Bloomingdale, Butler and Kinnelon among them, we need a hunt this year (2008).

We know that in 2003 and 2005 after each year of those hunts the complaints and sightings went down, we need this down trend again and now.

The black bear problem in N.J. is not a hunting issue;

hunting is the only safe and proven method of Wildlife Management Control and is used throughout the United States. In fact, the more liberal California is logical enough to conduct an annual black bear hunting season that extends for weeks and allows bow hunters, long-gun hunters and even pistol hunters to participate in culling (1700) black bears annually to maintain that “safe-co-existence” level of black bears.

Our neighboring states of New York and Pennsylvania have conducted black bear hunts for decades and have successfully managed to maintain a healthy black bear population. These states have both recently seen an increase in bear complaints around developed areas and they increased the hunting season lengths to further reduce the population. This strategy will allow the bears to return to their natural habitant where they have the room to move about the woods and forests.

Anti’s site this increased activity as a failure of hunting when in fact the opposite has never been more proven. If these states did not hold hunting seasons, culling approximately 4000 + black bears annually, just imagine the problems that would exist today with thousands of black bears from non-hunting and prorogation exceeding a 100,000 bears more over the last ten years alone, roaming those states and venturing into New Jersey as well.

Stay tuned as more information on this subject will appear each week

– Mike D.