Why are they hunting black bears in NJ?

In the last New Jersey bear hunt, held in 2003, 328 bears were killed.

Before that, it had been 35 years since hunters were allowed to shoot bear. In 1970, hunts were suspended because the black bear population had fallen to about 100.

The species has since rebounded, becoming a victim of its own success: New Jersey is now home to between 1,600 and 3,200 bears, and complaints and sightings are up sharply this year, as the animals are turning up all over the state -- sometimes in places they've never been seen before, far from the "bear country" of the northwestern quarter of the state, which includes Morris County.

In Egg Harbor City, near Atlantic City, a 150-pound bruin rummaged through garbage cans, ate from backyard bird feeders and jumped a fence a block from an elementary school during a weeklong stay last June, fueling fears among residents.

A month later, a 142-pound female bear attacked a sleeping camper at High Point State Park, biting the unidentified person's leg. The camper suffered minor injuries; the bear was captured, tranquilized and shot by a state biologist.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051205/NEWS01/512050303/1005