Fish and Wildlife agents trap and condition bear near daycare center

STOCKHOLM-Victoria Kaiser returned from a pleasant two-week vacation only to see an unpleasant site: a bear trap installed behind the Maple Tree Shopping Center on Route 23 in Stockholm. The trap bore a decal with the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife insignia. Kaiser, whose dental practice is located in the Maple Tree Shopping Center, which she owns, was even more disturbed when she heard that a large bear had been trapped in the device the previous week. She says she wishes someone would remove it immediately. "We've had bear problems for years, and nothing seems to help," said Kaiser. "Bears love deli food. We've been after the refuse collection company that owns the dumpsters to install stronger lids and bars, and they've promised they will. We are still waiting." "Interregional, our previous company tried to protect the dumpsters with iron bars and a metal lid and the bears collapsed the bars as if they were an accordion, and bent the metal lid. The bear-proofing lasted a week: a bear then ripped the bars off their welded back." Early last week, the trap appeared to be baited, and trash and animal scat were strewn about in the vicinity of the dumpsters. The dumpster lids were broken and partially open, and there were signs of visits from bears, raccoons, and other wild animals. At press time, the trap still was in place; however, the door was missing. Kaiser said she suspects that bears' rights sympathizers may have stolen it. The DEP press office apparently was unaware of the trap, and promised to investigate. Local environmental activist Susan Kehoe of Highland Lakes said that she had been told by several business owners at Maple Tree that bears had been hanging around ever since the lid on the dumpster broke. "When I was at the Plaza last week, I saw Fish and Wildlife officials release a bear after tranquilizing it, condition it by shooting in the butt with what seemed to be rubber bullets, then release it into the woods behind the mall. They set up the trap again and left," Kehoe said. Kehoe noted that the bear trap is situated 135 feet from a daycare center. "I measured the distance, and I observed that the bear was released while children were present in the school." "The problem isn't bears, it is improper garbage storage," Kehoe continued. In 2004, NJ Fish and Wildlife officials received 756 complaints about bears.