Famous Bear Who Was Killed Inspires Effort To Ban Hunt Forever

Pedals is gone, but there are so many lives we can still save.

UPDATE: Pedals' Law successfully passed the committee vote. But it's thought that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie could likely veto the bill. Show your support for Pedals' Law here.

Now that more evidence has surfaced that the bear killed last week in New Jersey's hunt was in fact Pedals - a bear famous for walking upright because of an old injury - people are determined to make sure the hunt never happens again.

New Jersey senator Raymond Lesniak has renamed his bill aiming to stop bear hunts "Pedals' Law," in memory of the bear.

On Monday, Pedals' Law, which would begin by banning the hunt for five years, will be voted on in the Senate Economic Development & Agriculture Committee - and it needs your support, so lawmakers can see how much people really do care about protecting New Jersey's bears.

"The killing of a harmless disabled bear highlights the need for non-lethal management," Senator Lesniak told The Dodo.

Pedals' Law, also known as S2702, has the following aims:

1. To end bear hunts for five years while a non-lethal bear control program is implemented. "I expect this program will be a success and there will never again be a bear hunt in New Jersey," Lesniak wrote.

2. To prohibit bear feeding and deer baiting in bear habitats.

3. To require bear resistance containers in bear habitat areas.

Pedals was just one of many bears killed last week by bow and arrow, which was allowed in New Jersey for the first time in decades and is an especially agonizing way to die. Between the first three bow-hunting days, and the final three rifle days, hunters killed a total of 549 bears during the hunt.

"[B]ear hunts only temporarily decrease the bear population and increase interaction of bears with the public," Lesniak explained. "Bear hunts are unnecessary and counterproductive. Let's put an end to them."

Show your support for Pedals' Law here - then share it with everyone you know.