Animal activists urge disbanding of panel
March 12, 2003
By RICHARD COWEN, The Record Staff Writer
Animal rights activists are calling on Governor McGreevey to disband the state's Fish and Game Council after it recommended last week to hold the first black bear hunt in New Jersey since 1970.
The New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance says the 11-member council is controlled by hunters rather than conservationists or wildlife management experts.
The activists say that's bad news not only for bears, but for every other animal species in New Jersey.
"The council has only one thing on its mind: recreational hunting," said Stuart Chaifetz, spokesman for the alliance. "We're going to put the governor on the spot. We're going to stop this hunt. But to do that, we need to make permanent changes in the Fish and Game Council. "
A spokesman for the governor, however, said Tuesday that McGreevey likely would not budge on his support for a carefully controlled hunt, and by extension, the council. And the council's chairman, W. Scott Ellis, criticized the animal rights group as "anti-hunting at any cost."
Last week, the council voted 10-1 in favor of a bear hunt in the Highlands region this fall, coinciding with the shotgun season for deer. The council, which sets hunting and fishing guidelines in the state, believes that hunting is the quickest and most cost-effective way to deal with the growing bear population and its increasing run-ins with humans in developed areas. A study pegs the state's bear population at as many as 3,200.
There are about 100,000 hunters among the state's 8 million residents. Revenue from hunting licenses and permits helps sustain state wildlife programs, including the stocking of game animals, reintroduction of species, and habitat management. The alliance, which opposes hunting of any kind, says the hunters have far too much say about wildlife management in New Jersey.
The council is appointed by the governor, with six of the 11 members recommended by the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen, a hunting group.
The alliance has proposed legislation that would disband the council and replace it with a body that includes more hunting opponents.
"Most people in New Jersey don't hunt and don't want a hunt," Chaifetz said. "This is the 21st century, where there's no need to hunt in order to gather food. This isn't the 18th century, where you shoot everything in sight."
The McGreevey administration has quietly pushed for a tightly controlled hunt.
"I doubt very seriously whether the governor would disband the Fish and Game Council," said Micah Rasmussen, a spokesman for McGreevey. "While the governor is concerned, he recognizes that the growing bear population remains a very real threat to people and property."
Ellis, the council chairman, said the hunt is just one of several control measures. The state will continue public education programs, has agreed to test an immuno-contraception program for bears, and captures and kills problem bruins.
Ellis also questioned the wisdom of allowing the bear hunt to become a legislative issue.
"I wonder if the state Legislature should be managing wildlife in this state," he said.
A similar outcry arose three years ago, when the council voted to allow a bear hunt. Responding to public pressure, Gov. Christie Whitman urged the council to cancel the hunt, which it did.
The council's public hearing on the hunt is set for May 13 at the State Museum in Trenton. A final vote on the hunt would most likely be held in mid-June.
Richard Cowen's e-mail address is
cowen@northjersey.com
