January 03, 2016
A quite literally large issue has been missing from the previous GOP presidential debates, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tackled it (so to speak) at a New Hampshire town hall even Sunday.
According to Bloomberg, Christie was asked by one person at the event about his state's bear hunt, which is being expanded in 2016.
EARLIER STORY: Christie steps up New Hampshire campaign
Christie defended the extension, which includes an extra six-day season in October in addition to a December season, according to NJ.com. He was asked if there would be a national bear policy, something he said he hadn't thought of, but did warn that bears are invading our communities. More from Bloomberg:
"They're coming into neighborhoods, they're coming into homes," he said. He later added: "I don't have a federal bear-hunt policy. I haven't thought about it yet."
To be fair to Christie, he's not technically wrong. A black bear was shot and killed by a police officer when it broke into a West Milford home and started eating cat food and candy back in July.
According to the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife, the biggest problem state residents have with bears - specifically black bears - is the animals getting into their garbage.
But while state officials are touting the bear hunt as a way to control the population, some environmental groups argue hunters using arrows during the expanded season will often only injure and maim the animals instead of killing them, according to the Associated Press.
During the 2015 December season, 510 bears were killed, AP reports.
