Bear hunt started here on Monday

[Donna]

First days total was 264 bear.

JEFFERSON — A 150-pound female black bear shot and killed Monday in Jefferson is the only bruin so far to have been taken in violation of the law governing New Jersey's controversial bear hunt, now in its second day, the state Department of Environmental Protection said.

A 17-year-old boy was helping to build his family's new home on October Hill Road when he shot a bear that apparently wandered by, DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese said.

The boy, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile, is a licensed hunter and had a permit for the 6-day hunt, Ragonese said.

However, two neighboring homes were around 250 feet away - well within the 450-foot "safety zone" in which hunting is prohibited, Ragonese said.

Ragonese said a state conservation officer was sent to the property after a neighbor reported that shots had been fired.The initial report did not list the number of shots fired or the make of the weapon. The teen fired "either from the shell, or at the shell" of the home under construction, Ragonese said.

While hunters are supposed to transport dead bears to a check station, the conservation officer found the carcass in nearby woods, Ragonese said. The teen's family agreed to take the bear to a check station so it could be properly logged.

No charges had been filled as of Tuesday afternoon. Ragonese said possible sanctions could range from a written warning to a juvenile court complaint.

Ragonese said it was the only bear killed so far in a location where hunting is not allowed.

A total of 264 bears were reported killed on the hunt's first day Monday, with around two dozen animal rights activists protesting at one of the check stations in Fredon. Seventy-seven more bears were reported killed by 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to DEP.

State Division of Fish and Wildlife Assistant Director Larry Herrighty, who was working in Fredon on Monday, estimated that anywhere from 500 to 700 bears would be killed by the end of the hunt. It is New Jersey's third bear hunt since 2003.

At a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie said he would consider cutting short the state's bear hunt if state wildlife officials recommend it.

I'm not happy with any of this!

[Tokira]

At a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie said he would consider cutting short the state's bear hunt if state wildlife officials recommend it.

I'm not happy with any of this!

The unfortunate fact is that New Jersey's bear population has blossomed out of control.  That, combined with urban encroachment on the bears' habitat, has led to a frightening increase in bear attacks on humans.  The bear hunt, it is hoped, will reduce the number of such attacks 
Carol

[Tokira]

From those "on the ground" in NJ...
http://blog.nj.com/njv_mark_diionno/2010/12/the_other_side_of_nj_bear_hunt.html
 
Carol

[anneintoronto]

From those "on the ground" in NJ...

Carol

You have wild bears in NJ?  I thought it was just one big mega-metropolis!  It's obviously not as described by the folk in NY at all!!

What can I say?  Put a gun or rifle in a human being's tight little grip, and he's going to aim it at something...  It is, unfortunately, Human Nature...  And it scares the heck out of me!!  So, to the bears in NJ -- a lot of the humans have rifles!  RUN AWAY!!

Anne in Toronto   (the "right to bear arms"... Hmmmmm...  What does "bear" have to do with it?)