Community Corner

New Jersey Bear Hunt Off to a Slow Start, Due to Weather

The six-day animal population management event runs through Saturday at 7 p.m. for firearm hunters with permits.

The first day of New Jersey's six-day bear firearm hunt was a slow one, as wet weather kept many hunters out of the woods Monday, the Daily Record reported. 

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection event, which runs concurrently with deer hunting season, is intended to manage the bear population and improve public safety. The DEP said the first bear killed in the hunt was a 279-pound adult male in Andover Township.

Last year, 287 bears were killed during the New Jersey Bear Hunt, the article said, adding that 10,000 licenses were available for hunters this year, and 6,445 were taken for the hunt. In 2012, 6,700 permits were taken, leading officials to predict this Bear Hunt totals could be similar to last year's.

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The six-day stretch ends Saturday at 7 p.m.


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