Letter to the Editor: Bear Family Won't Get Evicted

Dear Editor,

After reading the story “Bear family won’t be evicted from den under Kinnelon deck,” I had mixed emotions. Although it was nice to see this bear family not driven away from their home, I felt as though they really should have been moved for the safety of the people living in their home and their neighbors. I’m all for the fair treatment of animals, but when we put their safety over that of human beings is where it begins to concern me.

Bears are generally not looking for humans to eat or hurt, but the fact that they live under a person’s deck could cause their behaviors to change. It is safe to say that in a fight of a bear vs. a human, a bear normally wins that fight which does not bode well for the people of this Kinnelon neighborhood. What about the children of the neighborhood? If a bear were to get out and start causing trouble with a child, what would the town do about that?

I will say I do admire the work done by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife in recognizing that moving this female bear and her two cubs could really be a deadly move. However, it seems that they have forgotten that by doing this they have put human lives at risk, which also must be recognized in this discussion.

In a situation like this, both the township of Kinnelon and the family being invaded by bears must come to a logical decision as to what to do. The problem I had with this story was that the family did not have a voice that was properly represented by The Record. I really would like to know what they were thinking? This is not something that the average family has to deal with on a daily basis, and I know for sure that if a family of bears was living under my deck, I would want them relocated for the safety of my family.

Yours truly,
Dave Ragazzo