For too long, management of New Jersey
has been left to anonymous committees.
Some issues benefit by committee involvement, not the Bear Issue.
THE BEAR ISSUE is a dangerous situation
that must be dealt with strong management controls. I don't want to wait
for someone to get hurt in a 'tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.'.
Wild Bears are cute for their first month of life. Almost
everyone has seen the
propaganda photography of the cute bears playing games.
'Winnie the Pooh' is a cute bear. Almost everyone has
seen a cute drawing of 'Winnie the Pooh' with
a honey jar stuck on his head.
Wild bears can be dangerous. In 1993, bears entered my camp when I was
hiking the Appalachian Trail. If my dog did not chase the
bears, I can't say what would have happened. That was over seven years
ago, there are many more bears at the time you are reading this. In the year 2000, in the newspapers,
there were regular reports of bears attacking farmer's livestock.
Along with the cute propaganda photography, the media should display reality reports about the dangers of unregulated bears.
The only rational solution I can think of to control the New Jersey Bear
population is to PEN THE BEARS. If we sincerely want to keep
a bear population in New Jersey, we must manage the bears in
a controlled environment. The best solution I can imagine is to
set up a number of fenced Bear Parks throughout New Jersey.
Hunters could capture the bears and transport them to Bear Parks.
The bear population within the Parks can be managed. If the bear
population grows beyond a certain count, it is feasible to transport bears to
other states. Bears outside the bear parks should be treated as dangerous
wild animals.
ONLINE: February 18, 2006
