newjerseynewsroom.com

BY PAT SUMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

An estimated 80 people swelled the usual number around the Division of Fish and Wildlife headquarters in Trenton on Monday afternoon. Unlike state employees on break or lunch, these people carried signs, strung yellow “crime scene” tape with “wanted” posters around pillars and drew chalk outlines of bears on the ground.

Near DFW’s entrance, they set up a long table with a microphone and space for publications and buttons. Close to 1 pm, their protest rally began. It was not against the bear hunt scheduled for early next month – the second one in two years and highly unpopular among non-hunters – but against the “perp”: the Division itself.

This is the unit of state government that is responsible for the black bear hunt and all black bear killings that have taken place in New Jersey. Because DFW continues to kill innocent cubs and yearlings, falsely labeling them “Category 1” or most dangerous, animal welfare organizations decided to protest at its HQ.

Both speakers and signs accused DFW of crimes against nature and crimes against good government. Indigenous to NJ, black bears are shy creatures who should be treasured instead of killed. But DFW bows to the hunting lobby, selling licenses and conducting hunting classes, as well as permitting nursing mothers and cubs to be murdered during the hunt.

Last year’s arguments against the bear hunt included data demonstrating that DFW had inflated numbers of bear incidents in the state, thereby bolstering the seeming need for a hunt. Both then and now, the reality is that black bear feeding laws are not enforced; in fact, black bears are baited with food and then accused of – or killed for – “bear incidents.” 

A series of people representing NJ animal welfare organizations spoke, drawing frequent applause and punctuated by drum beats. Eleanor Hoffman and Cathy McCartney, co- chairs of the Bear Education and Resource Group (www.saveNJbears.com), opened the program.

They were the first to refer to DFW as a men’s “hunting club” and point out that 99% of New Jerseyans are against “recreational trophy hunting.” Last year, 77% of those at the hearing on a bear hunt were against it. For these reasons, DFW was described as a “rogue agency operating above the law.”

Stuart Chaifetz, of SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness), and a League of Humane Voters (www.LOHVNJ.org) rep reminded protesters that the bear population had dropped to about 10 in the 70s, a result of relentless hunting. Governor Chris Christie’s tie in with an outdoor alliance PAC, “selling lives for votes,” is still under investigation.

Kathleen Schatzmann, state director for the Humane Society of the US, spelled out non-lethal solutions to “bear incidents,” while Merrilee Cichy, of LOHV-NJ and KLIP (Keep Life in the Park), reminded the group that in last year’s hunt, most of the “trophies” weighed less than 75 pounds and 65 % of the bears killed were cubs and yearlings.

Jeff Tittel, director of the NJ Sierra Club, referred to the dearth of education programs and other non-lethal aids DFW could and should offer. Doris Lin, Esq. (director of Legal Services, APLNJ and VP, legal affairs, BEAR Group), said, “The bear hunt is not only wrong; it is illegal.”

A decision on the lawsuit filed to stop the hunt is expected Nov. 29, before its projected start date. “We will keep fighting till legislators and courts catch up to the public,” she declared.

Bill Crane, a psych prof at City University of New York, pointed out how children always love animals, and suggested getting kids out on this issue. Urging participants to “let your emotions show and soften your hearts,” he talked about how adults are socialized to be more accepting of bear hunts.

Angi Metler is both executive director of Animal Protection League of NJ (www.aplnj.org) and chair of the League of Human Voters of New Jersey. Asking rally participants to raise their hands, she deputized everyone to expose DFW, “a hunting club masquerading as a state agency.”

She showed a photo of a bear caught in a snare trap behind her home. “We freed him!” she reported, adding, “It is sane to be upset about a bear hunt.”

Political action, not appeals to Governor Christie, a “serial bully,” will effect change, Metler said. It’s all in protesters’ hands.

“Their lives depend on us. We’re it, folks,” Eleanor Hoffman closed, urging those at the rally to make calls and write letters – and be ready for further actions like today’s protest.

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Freelancer Pat Summers also blogs at www.AnimalBeat.blogspot.com.