TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The second segment of New Jersey’s annual black bear hunt resumed Monday, with hunters in parts of eight counties returning to the woods at dawn.
Hunters are permitted to use firearms during the final part of the hunt, which runs until Saturday. However, the season will be extended by four days if the bear harvest “does not meet a minimum of 20% of bears tagged.”
Hunters using archery and muzzleloaders killed 336 bears during the first segment of this year’s hunt between Oct. 12 and Oct. 17. Most of the bruins were bagged in Sussex County.
Bear hunting also is permitted in parts of Morris, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hunterdon, Somerset and Mercer counties.
Gov. Phil Murphy has vowed to end the hunt next year. The Democrat signed an executive order in 2018 that barred bear hunting in state parks, forests and recreation areas.
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