AR-News: (US-NJ) FEDERAL COURT STAYS NEW JERSEY BEAR HUNT ON NATIONAL PARK

[Tracey McIntire]

For Immediate Release

FEDERAL COURT STAYS NEW JERSEY BEAR HUNT ON NATIONAL PARK

WASHINGTON (December 5, 2003)  Late today in U.S. District Court, Judge 
Reggie B. Walton issued a temporary restraining order to stop the trophy 
hunting of bears at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. New 
Jerseys first bear hunt in 33 years is scheduled to begin on Monday, 
but the national parkapproximately 20 percent of the total bear hunt 
areawill be off limits to hunters. Judge Walton blocked hunting from 
taking place in the park until he makes a further ruling, which he said 
will come Tuesday.

We are very pleased that the court is considering the serious legal 
violations and irreparable harm that bear hunting would cause, and has 
granted at least a temporary stay of execution for the bears, said 
Michael Markarian, President of The Fund for Animals. At least some of 
the bears in New Jersey will get a reprieve when the trophy hunt begins 
next week.

Delaware Water Gap encompasses more than 67,000 acres of protected park 
land which is home to more than 130 species of rare and endangered 
birds, mammals, and plantsincluding an extremely fragile population of 
wintering bald eagles who could be disturbed by bear hunters. The groups 
claim that the bear hunt would violate the National Park Service Organic 
Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy 
Act, because the National Park Service has failed to:

--set any limits on the number of hunters who may enter the park;
--set any limits on the number of bears who may be killed;
--review the environmental impacts on the bear population and park 
resources;
--solicit comment from the public; or
--engage in consultation concerning potential impacts on threatened and 
endangered species.

These black bears have never been huntedthey are shy animals who trust 
humans and will be especially vulnerable, said Sue Russell, Policy 
Director for the New Jersey-based Center for Animal Protection. Because 
of that, an already tenuous population will be hard-hit, and the 
government hasnt accounted for this at all. What our state needs to 
solve bear/human conflicts is not to shoot bears at random, but rather 
to implement a progressive policy of aversive conditioning, authentic 
public education, and bear habitat preservation.

There is not one sensible reason to allow the trophy hunting of black 
bears at Delaware Water Gap, added Wayne Pacelle, a Senior Vice 
President at The Humane Society of the United States. These lands were 
set aside specifically for wildlife, and the bears living in this 
wilderness area are causing no one any harm. The federal government 
conducted no environmental review in allowing the shooting of these 
animals, and the hunt should certainly not be allowed to proceed.

The plaintiffs in the suit include The Fund for Animals, The Center for 
Animal Protection, The Humane Society of the United States, and several 
individuals. They are represented by the public interest law firm Meyer 
& Glitzenstein. A copy of the complaint is available at 
www.fund.org/uploads/DWGcomplaint.pdf, and a copy of the motion for 
temporary restraining order is available at www.fund.org/uploads/DWGTRO.pdf.