The second bear hunt phase began Monday in New Jersey, and if Phil Murphy and a handful of idealist protestors have their way it will be Jersey's last. Starting Monday, for six days in northern counties it's firearms, whereas phase one in October was a combination of archery and muzzle loaders. I have to laugh when I see the signs the protestors are happily waving at cameras. "Stop the injustice of killing innocent bears!" Lady, no one ever said they were guilty of anything. I wonder how many people like this ever had a burger or some chicken parmesan. Weren't those animals innocent too? I guess it's okay as long as someone does the killing for you. Keeps you clean and hypocritical. "Respect nature, no bear hunt!" This is one of my favorite signs as hunters have more respect for nature than anyone else and happen to be this nation's greatest conservationists.

Then there's Phil Murphy who pledges to stop the annual hunt. "Before authorizing another hunt we need a fuller understanding and proof it works better than non-lethal options in the state's long-term bear management policies,"
says Murphy. "As governor, I would institute a moratorium on the state's bear hunt."

There is already proof that it works better than non-lethal options. Non-lethal options have been studied repeatedly and have been found to be impractical. What's one definition of insanity? Repeating the same thing and expecting different results.

A bear ran out into the travel lanes of I-78 last year setting off a chain reaction collision. Also last year a tractor-trailer hit a bear on Route 22. In 2014 in Florida a car crash with a black bear left 3 people dead. Just this year, the same number of people were killed in a bear collision in Colorado. Let's not forget Darsh Patel, a Rutgers student who was mauled to death by a bear in New Jersey.

In other words, it's not just about pets and trash cans. Stopping the hunt now will result in bigger problems later just when instituting a second phase of our annual hunt has improved numbers of unwanted bear/human incidents. This dream world Phil Murphy lives is only going to bring us back to bigger problems with bears down the road.

More from New Jersey 101.5

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM