The popular television show, “The Colbert Report,” turned its satirical eye last week to the subject of New Jersey’s bear hunt. The Humane Society of the U.S. launched a new defense of the state’s black bear population following the airing of the Comedy Central production. The five nightly news broadcast hosted by Stephen Colbert normally takes its aim squarely at the obscure and unflattering antics of Washington, D.C.’s finest. On Jan. 10 however it was bear hunters who bore the brunt of Colbert’s robust style of mockery. The show’s segment interspersed a group of second graders asking questions to a television camera which were later put to several hunters as they held guns over their shoulders and blindly walked straight into the show’s elaborate set-up. One youngster asked if a hunter liked the cartoon character Yogi Bear to which the unsuspecting hunter replied that he’d probably shoot him. Another hunter was heard to say, “The only good bear is a dead bear.” Once the shocked laughter had died down it was other comments made by those shown in the piece as well as by renowned bear hunt advocate, Eric Bunk, which caused alarm at the Humane Society. Bunk explained how he and other hunters regularly used donuts and other sweet foods to lure the bears from out of cover. It is the choice of bait which sparked the grievance. “A fed bear is a dead bear,” says Michael Markarian, Executive Vice President of External Affairs at the Washington, D.C. based Humane Society. “Feeding creates nuisance bears who often have to be destroyed. It also creates noxious piles of rotting meat, jelly doughnuts, baking grease, and other food that disrupt the recreational activities of other outdoors enthusiasts,” said Markarian. The possible knock-on effect of associating food with humans is a further concern of Markarian’s, “Baiting bears conditions them to human food sources and exacerbates bear/human conflicts. In every national park, for example, we see signs that say “Don’t Feed the Bears,” and it’s because feeding bears teaches them to look for human food in dumpsters, trash cans, and campsites.” Unsurprisingly Bunk took a starkly differing view of using food to bait bears. Bunk said “Bears are only baited during hunting season. A bear cannot reason that the baited area is human food, he simply uses his instinct and sense of smell to eat what he feels is edible.” As a regular defender of hunters Bunk took aim at the animal protection group and their attempts to block further hunts from taking place, “As far as the Humane Society is concerned they are against all hunting and are using the baiting excuse to ban hunting.” Markarian fired back, however, arguing, “Shooting bears at random for trophies in New Jersey is not going to solve the bear problem. It’s like trying to reduce crime by shooting into a crowded room. New Jersey needs effective programs to teach people how to store food and trash properly and not attract bears.” The inelegant portrayal of hunters on the show incited only a blithe response from Bunk, “I haven’t seen the Comedy Central show but I don’t imagine it being complementary to hunters. The media in general has never really been kind to hunters or gun owners but I have a sense of humor.” The humor derived from oblivious huntsmen, according to Markarian, is far from funny, “When hunters shoot bears for trophies and engage in unsportsmanlike and unethical behavior such as baiting, they are easy targets for satirical shows like the Colbert Report.” During the bear hunt a total of 297 bears were killed throughout New Jersey. It was only the second bear hunt to take place in the state in 35 years.