Bear hunt begins Monday in New Jersey but not on state lands

TRENTON -- The annual bear hunt in New Jersey begins Monday but is expected to be greatly reduced following an order by the governor barring black bear hunting on state-owned lands.

The six-day hunt starts just before sunrise. The first three days are reserved for bow hunting, while both hunting with bows and muzzle-loading guns will be allowed during the last three days.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said that New Jersey will pursue more nonlethal methods to manage the state's black bear population. His order removes from the hunt roughly 40 percent of the lands where bears were hunted over the past eight years.

Murphy said last year that he would seek to stop the hunt, but he later said he doesn't have the power to unilaterally call it off.

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