Bear hunt afterthoughts

To the Editor: After a successful bear hunting season this year resulting in the wise use of the wildlife resource for meat and hides, I would like to make these final observations. Linda Smith and her cohorts in the BEAR group — in an attempt to harass hunters and cause trouble — formed the phony “bear rescue team.” Why wasn’t this team formed earlier for bears hit by cars, etc.? Why don’t they “rescue” bears when there aren’t any cameras around? Linda Smith herself, after being arrested for her unruly behavior toward police and park rangers on the last day of the hunt, exclaimed “The system doesn’t work, law abiding citizens have to break the law.” I fully support their right to protest and to debate the facts in any forum — including the court system — but during this hunting season, between hunters having paint poured on their vehicles, tires slashed, tree stands and bait stations destroyed, and lives threatened (in front of a park ranger no less), they have gone off the deep end. One woman wrote a letter wondering why armed men were “afraid” of mostly women screaming and chanting and just being unruly. Well, this shows that responsible cool headed individuals with firearms aren’t lunatics who would pull a gun on someone for being harassed. Let’s be straight and to the point. These people aren’t “peaceful” as they claim to be, they are terrorists pure and simple. One local BEAR group member is actually a “communique” as they put it for the A.L.F. or Animal Liberation Front who are responsible for arson and other acts of violence against the fur industry and animal research labs. They have crossed the line this time. This is domestic terrorism folks... Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore. Eric Bunk North Jersey Area Director Ted Nugent United Sportsmen of America West Milford