New Jersey - Your Help Is Needed To Protect Our Hunting Heritage

As you may know, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife has proposed re-opening a hunting season on black bears for the first time since 1970. While this is good news for the sportsmen of New Jersey, the bear season is not safe just yet. Despite the rising number of bear-human incidents over the past few years, virulent anti-hunting groups continue to ignore common sense and push for a ban on hunting. Without your input, black bear hunting may be stopped before the season ever opens! Here are two things you can do to help make the black bear season go forward:

• Attend the Public Hearing -- on May 22, the Fish and Game Council is holding a public hearing to get input on the proposed wildlife code changes, including the bear season. Sportsmen should attend this hearing and make their position known. It will be held Thursday, May 22 at the New Jersey State Museum, 205 State Street in Trenton. The hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m.
• Oppose SB 1219 -- Senator Joseph Vitale (D-19) is sponsoring a bill to stop the proposed bear season. Not only will SB 1219 stop any bear hunting, it also appropriates $95,000 of your tax dollars and gives it to the Humane Society of the United States--one of the most extremist anti-hunting groups in the country--to study ways of controlling the bears "other than hunting." The Senate Environment Committee will hear SB 1219 next week, so it is vital that you act now.

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Please call the members of the Environment Committee
and tell them to oppose SB 1219!

Henry McNamara (201) 848-9600
Joseph Suliga (908) 587-0805
John Adler (856) 428-3343
Andrew Ciesla (732) 840-9028
Leonard Lance (908) 788-6900
Bob Smith (732) 752-0770

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