Bear Necessity or Not?

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Tabular Results
Survey Details

A majority of New Jersey voters (58%) support a bear hunt, if wildlife scientists conclude that bears are exceeding their recommended habitat limits and are destroying private property, while just a third (32%) oppose it.

According to results from Fairleigh Dickinson University's recent PublicMind poll, men are more likely than women (66%-50%) to agree to a bear hunt as a solution under these narrowly defined conditions, and men are also more likely than women to strongly agree (38%-25%).  And while a majority of both Republicans and Democrats agree with the bear hunt as a remedy, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support it (65-54%).

However, 19% of all likely voters strongly disagree that a bear hunt is an acceptable way of controlling that population even when “wildlife scientists conclude that bears are exceeding their recommended habitat limits and are destroying private property.”

“That one in five likely voters strongly oppose a bear hunt even under these carefully outlined conditions may be why the governor is reluctant to allow the bear hunt to go forward before exhausting other possibilities,” said Peter Woolley, a political scientist and director of the poll.

Contacts:

Peter Woolley 973.670.3239; Dan Cassino 973.896.7072

For more information, please call (973) 443-8661.