Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, made the following statement in response to Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Bob Martin's approval on Wednesday March 17th of the New Jersey Fish and Game Council's Draft Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy. The policy would allow the trophy hunting of black bears in the state for the first time in five years:
"The New Jersey Fish and Game Council's proposal to allow the trophy hunting of black bears is unwarranted and at odds with public opinion. There is no compelling social or biological reason to repeal the state's long-standing prohibition on sport hunting. It appears to be a political maneuver to cater to the state's small trophy hunting lobby.
"Shooting bears at random is as effective at resolving conflicts with bears as shooting into a crowd is to reduce crime. The Division can effectively reduce conflicts with bears by stepping up efforts to enforce regulations prohibiting the intentional or unintentional feeding of bears and to better utilize effective techniques of discouraging individual nuisance bears, including aversive conditioning."
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