SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Phil Murphy said there will absolutely not be any bear hunts in New Jersey this year.
The state’s bear population has grown significantly over the past few years, but the governor has no plans to change his policy on hunting.
“There will be no bear hunt this year. Period. I can say that definitively,” he said Wednesday.
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Murphy has been in contact with the state Department of Environmental Protection about bears, and there is money in the budget set aside to ensure they are dealt with in an appropriate way.
“We are committed to non-lethal, humane, but smart and safe means to control the bear population,” he said.
Last October, Murphy announced bear hunting would end in 2021. Murphy’s statements on Wednesday came after the New Jersey Fish and Game Council approved an emergency bear hunt order for next month, though it required Murphy’s signoff.
Bears have been spotted in all of the state’s 21 counties in the past few years, according to the state DEP.