470 bears killed in annual hunt
NEW JERSEY. The harvest rate was 24.1 percent, above the state’s goal of 20 percent.
| 15 Dec 2024 | 08:28
A total of 470 black bears were killed in New Jersey’s annual hunt.
The second of the two-part hunt ended Saturday, Dec. 14.
From Monday, Dec. 9 through Saturday, 73 bears were killed: 46 in Sussex County, 20 in Warren, three in Morris, three in Passaic and one in Hunterdon, according to figures from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Fish & Wildlife section.
A total of 397 were killed in the first part of the hunt, Oct. 14-19.
In Segment A, 192 bears were taken in Sussex, 102 in Warren, 70 in Morris, 23 in Passaic, six in Hunterdon, three in Bergen and one in Somerset.
A total of 48, or 24.1 percent, of the bears killed this year had a tag attached to an ear. The tags are used to determine the harvest rate.
State officials are aiming for a harvest rate of 20 percent, which they have said is needed to reduce the black bear population.
Last year, 493 bears were killed and the harvest rate was 19 percent.