The controversial black bear hunt in New Jersey starts Monday and will go through October 14th.
Data shows a big drop in bear human encounters through August of this year compared to the same time frame last year. But despite that the The New Jersey Fish and Game Council still feels it necessary to have the hunt to reduce bear human encounters. Anjuli Ramos with the New Jersey Sierra Club opposes the hunt, saying the state needs to make non lethal methods the priority like incentivizing bear proof trash cans.
"Makes it impossible for the bear to go through your garbage and therefore making the probability of the bear coming back to your home lower and less encounters."
The hunt takes place in several counties, mostly in northern New Jersey. There's another approved hunt planned for early December.