New Jersey's first bear hunt in five years is set to go on as planned New Jersey's first bear hunt in five years is just a week away and set to go on as planned despite a last-ditch effort by several animal rights organizations to have the hunt postponed. On Monday, Nov. 22, State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bob Martin rejected an appeal made by the Animal Protection League of New Jersey (APLNJ) and the West Milford-based Bear Education and Resource (BEAR) Group to postpone the six-day hunt, scheduled for a seven-county region that includes parts of Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Passaic, Morris, Somerset and Bergen counties. The bear hunt, set to take place from Dec. 6 to 11, is authorized under the state's recently adopted Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (CBBMP). Bloody animal rights activists protest against fur Yesterday, as part of the World Day Against the Use of Fur actions, AnimaNaturalis activists paraded wearing fur and with fake blood dripping down their chins to protest against the use of animal furs and leather for clothing. The protest was held outside a prestigious shopping center in Mexico City, not shy of shops selling fur. Winter is the heyday for the fur industry. Every year this industry generated massive profits from the death of millions of furry animals like seals, minks, foxes, otters, chinchillas, bobcats and many others. Labels focus of lawsuit against Perdue A new class action lawsuit accuses Perdue Farms Inc. of practicing false advertising by labeling some products as “humanely raised” — a description that, according to the plaintiff, contradicts the manner in which the company's birds are raised and slaughtered. The lawsuit was filed Monday in the Superior Court of Monmouth County, N.J., by a member of the Humane Society of the United States. The animal rights group is not bringing the lawsuit but has joined with two law firms to represent the plaintiff in the case. Scottish Beaver Trapping Plan Angers Animal Activists The project is a top secret beaver project, unpublicized but authorized by Scottish Natural Heritage (the government wildlife body). Some wildlife experts, according to the Guardian UK, believe that there could be more than fifty free breeding beavers roaming in the Scottish wild. Not a country to want a ton of free breeding beavers in the wild, the beavers have been tagged to be trapped and then given to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which houses beavers at the Highland wildlife park and then works to reintroduce them to the wild. Law Brings Harsher Penalties for Abuse of Animals “Nobody in the world could reproach us for occupying ourselves with trifles by gathering together ministers and discussing some cats,” said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his speech at the International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg last week. Putin's words at the forum, which was devoted to saving the endangered global wild tiger population, demonstrated that Russia has finally started to address animal rights at a state level, and more importantly, putting the words into practice: A bill regulating responsibility for cruelty to animals has finally been passed, and the new law comes into force on Jan. 1, 2011. BM
