Catherine McCartney is taken into custody by New Jersey State Police at a protest at the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area black bear check-in station during the first day of New Jersey’s 6-day-long regulated bear hunt on October 8th. Photo from the New Jersey Herald.
Yesterday, WAN reported on a woman who killed an innocent mountain lion and boastfully shared horrific photos taken during the aftermath of the shockingly “legal” hunt in Colorado.
Sadly, today, we are reporting on a woman who was sentenced to jail for rescuing a crying bear cub from a trap in New Jersey.
Times like these may leave most compassionate people speechless, but our voices are needed now more than ever. Not only for all of the innocent animals at risk of being hunted and killed for so-called “sport,” but for the people trying to save them.
WAN previously announced in October of last year, that members of the BEAR Group were charged with opening a culvert bear trap set by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife and releasing a live black bear from the trap that was purposely placed at the Great Gorge Condos.
“For freeing a crying cub from a bear trap, Cathy McCartney was sentenced to 15 days in jail and fines,” shared a recent post on the organization’s Facebook page, further explaining that Mark Nagelhout, who was also apprehended, only received a fine because it was his first so-called “offense.”
“Their statements in court focused on the fact that TRASH is the main reason why bears are lured into residential neighborhoods, yet the hunter-backed state agency, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, refuses to enforce the feeding ban law,” continued the post. “Cathy said that the state’s response is to ignore trash violations and then ‘set traps and kill bears…and then push for trophy hunts. This isn’t wildlife management. It’s a vicious circle and bears suffer because of it.’”
McCartney and Nagelhout were also reportedly fined a total of $1,316 each for saving the bear cub. Outrageous!
The BEAR Group stated that they will likely appeal these excessive penalties on behalf of their activist, and that they will continue to provide updates on the case as they advocate for permanent bear protection.
For now, the organization has requested that people send letters to the editors of the New Jersey local papers at the email addresses below. “Bears must NOT be punished because Fish and Wildlife officers don’t do their jobs.”
Bergen Record: letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com
Daily Record: letters@dailyrecord.com
New Jersey Herald: newsroom@njherald.com
Trenton Times: letters@njtimes.com
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