Demo at 'crime scene,' a.k.a. DFW

If ever a state agency deserved to be protested against, it's the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Last Monday afternoon, that's what happened in a highly effective demonstration at DFW's headquarters in Trenton.

Numbers of animal welfare organizations took their protest directly to the source: the people who will bring us another horrific black bear hunt next month and who have been responsible for numbers of black bear deaths this year. . . the people who stack the deck against bears in myriad ways and sell hunting licenses for trophy kills.

Here's a link to the story that appeared in an online publication worth knowing and spreading the word about:

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/protesters-rally-for-bears-at-nj-fish-and-wildlife-crime-scene

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Protest DFW crimes at DFW headquarters

Starting with last December’s bear hunt, AnimalBeat has included numerous posts about NJ’s black bears, including the innocent bears killed in the name of public safety or “we didn’t have tranquillizer darts.” The agency behind all those killings, as well as the hunt, is the Division of Fish and Wildlife, in the Department of Environmental Protection.

Next Monday is the date for the first protest at the DFW office in Trenton. After this year’s killings – and before the hunt that’s no doubt planned for this year – it is an appropriate time to let DFW know what we think of its “crimes against nature and crimes against good government,” as the Bear Education and Resource Group in APLNJ describes them.

The bill of indictment against DFW includes the following, taken from the APLNJ flyer about next Monday’s event.

• Since April of this year, DFW authorized the killing of more than 20 bears, cubs, and yearlings to underscore a claimed need for a hunt
• DFW continues to promote a trophy hunt despite mounting evidence that hunts achieve nothing and cause increased "nuisance" behavior in orphaned cubs and yearlings left without their mother's guidance
• DFW inflates population estimates to justify their goal to expand the bear hunt
• DFW relocates bears to repopulate the species into other hunting zones
• DFW refuses to enforce the black bear feeding ban law
• DFW killed an innocent bear cub in Stokes State Forest after the bear was exonerated on all charges

The demonstration next Monday will take place at NJ Fish and Wildlife HQ, 501 East State St., Trenton, between 1-2:30 pm. The program includes a number of speakers, from leaders of the “Bear Group,” APLNJ and the League of Humane Voters, to HSUS and NJ Sierra Club reps, to an investigator and a wildlife specialist.

Yes, Monday is a “work day,” but if hunters take off from work for trophy hunts, bear supporters can take off to speak up against bear hunts and bear killing. That would be a good day’s work!

(http://www.aplnj.org/events.php)

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You call this a ‘management’ plan?

“For hunters, a big first day”: So read the headline in Tuesday morning’s Trenton Times. Too bad they couldn’t interview the bears involved too. But – oops, I forgot: they were dead. Yes, mothers, cubs, males – all were “fair” game.

And those diligent, eager hunters killed at least 150 of them on the first of six hunting days. Or as the Times reported it: “the biggest one-day take in the hunt’s three seasons.”

Hunters, stand tall. You bagged ’em. You kept New Jersey safe for . . . unsecured garbage? unprotected bird feeders?

A reported 7,800 permits were issued to hunters from NJ and neighboring states. They were up against an estimated 3,400 bears. How do those odds stack up?

And those hunters we read about earlier, eager to make taxidermy arrangements: how do they feel later about a bear cub they shot to death?

All in the interest, so state officials said, of reducing the bear population that “preyed on livestock, the occasional house pet and, mostly, table scraps tossed into the trash at the margins of suburbia.”

Mostly table scraps. Which, if laws were enforced, wouldn’t be there to attract the bears.

We’ve repeated the many arguments against this hunt. We’ve discussed how shy and non-aggressive New Jersey’s black bears actually are. We’ve pointed out the errors in the so-called “management plan,” with its so-called “proof” of the need for a hunt.

This hunt is heinous, nothing less.
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There’s still time: defend NJ black bears

New Jersey’s black bears are very close to suffering a needless, cruel trophy hunt starting next Monday, Dec. 6. It’s more important than ever to keep calling on Governor Christie to cancel the hunt -- at this point, he’s the only one who can do so, and all it would take is an executive order.

Phone 609-292-6000. Ask to speak with a governor’s aide. Spell out the reasons against this hunt (mentioned here earlier and also available at www.APLNJ.org or www.SaveNJBears.com). Enlist friends and relatives to phone and do the same.

Attend the rally this Friday in Trenton to protest the hunt during working hours near the governor’s State House office. Friday, Dec. 3: 1-3 pm. Bring banners, posters, signs and noise-makers.

With questions or to RSVP, contact Edita Birnkrant, of Friends of Animals, one of the two groups (NJ's Heart for Animals is the other) behind this rally. Edita@FriendsOfAnimals.org or 212-247-8120 or Dustin Rhodes, at Dustin@FriendsOfAnimals.org, or 202-906-0210.
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How to get a bear hunt OK'd in NJ

New Jersey’s first bear hunt since 2005 is scheduled to begin Monday, Dec. 6 and run for six days. Those who want to stop the hunt – which means, those who hope Governor Christie will cancel the hunt – are actively trying everything imaginable to get his attention and his compassion.

Tomorrow’s rally in Paramus is the last of three such events designed to call attention to the cause. All around that, possible ways to get involved include letters to the editor, phoning or faxing the governor with messages and talking up these activities among like-minded others.

The link below leads to a story that spells out some pretty dismal information about the agencies and people involved in making this bear hunt happen. It seems as if the less they do correctly or right, the easier it is to get a bear hunt approved – much to the jubilation of trophy-seeking hunters of all ages.

Sickening.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/science-updates/nj-bear-hunt-inching-closer-despite-charges-state-dfw-cooked-books-to-get-approval
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Stand up for black bears!

Plan to stand up for black bears this weekend!

There won’t be many of these rallies, and it’s crucial that every one is well-attended!

Rain or shine, come out this Saturday, October 16, 12 noon--2pm.

Route 46 & Sammis Ave., in front of the Wachovia Bank, Dover, NJ. (Note: The address on GPS would be 401 route 46, Dover NJ, but it’s really Rockaway Twp.)

Questions or comments? E-mail info@aplnj.org.

Please come out for the bears!
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Save the date to help save the bears

December, the month for New Jersey’s projected bear hunt, is coming closer. With time running out, anti-hunt activists are trying to build support in all the ways they can think of.

Next Saturday’s “Stand Up for Me: Black Bear Rally” is one such activity. “Save the date” (October 16), urges the flyer from Animal Protection League of NJ (APLNJ). Scheduled for noon-2 pm in Rockaway Township, this rally will be one of only a few. It’s important for anti-hunt people to turn out for it in impressive numbers.

An alert later this week will specify the rally location. To request a rally reminder, write to info@aplnj.org.

Plan to “stand up for the bears.” They need our help.
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Become bear smart in an afternoon

With the state's black bears in the sights of the Fish and Wildlife Division, the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) and the BEAR Group are sponsoring a free family-friendly educational event about black bears on Saturday, April 24, from 2-4 pm. The place: VFW, 45 Tabor Road, Morris Plains, NJ. Those who attend will “become bear smart.”

Learn what black bears eat, how long they live and their life habits, what causes the most conflicts with people and how to prevent them. Hear what national parks are doing to manage bear population and what New Jersey communities are doing well for human and bear residents. Animal Control Officers, who often first receive calls related to bear issues, will describe how “bear smart communities” are formed, and how they have set up effective protocols and programs to ensure people and bears will live in harmony.

Speakers will include Stephanie Boyles, HSUS Wildlife Scientist; Janet Piszar, BEAR Group director; and Meredith Petrillo, Animal Control Officer, Denville Township.

For more information, contact Janet Piszar at Hasla1@verizon.net or 973-315-3219 directly.

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Sorry, readers, but anti-fur activist Julie O’ Connor reports that Lord and Taylor is not quite fur-free after all. Reportedly, although the fur salon has been removed and fur trim has disappeared from store and website, the store plans to sell some fur trim items in next winter’s clothing line.

As Julie put it: “L &T still wants to have ‘a little’ torture & cruelty on their racks -- on accessories and as trim on women's outerwear.” Although Lord and Taylor’s now much closer to fur-free than before, she’s thinking about a letter-writing campaign to encourage them to make it complete. More to follow and meanwhile, she says, shop fur-free at JC Penney or H & M.
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