![No more bear hunts after 2020, Murphy announces](https://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2016/10/UBLeftPaw.jpg?w=980&q=75)
No more bear hunts after 2020, Murphy announces
Gov. Phil Murphy, long an opponent of New Jersey's bear hunts, announced Monday this year's would be the last under his administration.
Addressing what he called a "complex issue," Murphy said the New Jersey Fish and Game Council will take up proposed amendment to the state's game code, suspending the bear hunt after the 2020 season and removing the current bear management policy from the code.
It would next develop a new black bear policy, focused on non-lethal management techniques.
"The 2020 bear hunt, already limited to a few days in October and December, will be the last bear hunt under my administration," Murphy said.
Murphy had previously said he opposes the hunt but that his hands were tied because the Fish and Game Council enacted a five-year bear management plan in 2015. He did, however, bar it from state lands over the last few years.
Since bear hunting returned in to New Jersey 2003, more than 4,500 bears have been killed.
![Rock 104.1 logo](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WENJHD4.png?w=100)
How you say Gov. Murphy is handling the coronavirus crisis
More From Rock 104.1
![Led Zeppelin Finally Appear to Have Won ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Case](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2016/06/ZepSprit.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![New COVID-19 App Alerts You If You Come in Contact the Virus](http://townsquare.media/site/396/files/2020/08/COVID-Mask-and-Pills.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Geddy Lee: Rush Don’t Have Any Unreleased Songs ‘Worth a Damn’](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2020/10/Geddy-Lee-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![What Sign Of The Zodiac Is The First Air Sign Of The Calendar Year?](http://townsquare.media/site/43/files/2020/10/What-Sign-Of-The-Zodiac-Is-The-First-Air-Sign-Of-The-Calendar-Year.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Paul McCartney: John Lennon and I Rescued Each Other](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2020/09/lennonmac.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Watch Mick Fleetwood Replicate Viral ‘Dreams’ Skateboard Video](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2020/10/fleetwood.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Is This Really How News Anchors Sound When They’re At Home?](http://townsquare.media/site/43/files/2020/10/anchor.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![A Harmless Dare Turns Into A Woman Getting Stuck In A Dryer](http://townsquare.media/site/43/files/2020/10/Dryer.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Ways for divorced couples to co-parent during COVID-19](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2020/09/divorce.jpg?w=980&q=75)