Ex-U.S. Sen Robert Torricelli denounced the hunt as "entirely immoral."
Former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli was among about 100 people who protested outside a state weigh station on the 12th and final day of the state's controversial bear hunt.
Torricelli, 65, a Democrat out of office since 2003, denounced the hunt as "entirely immoral."
"This isn't a hunt, it's a slaughter. They're slaughtering entire families of bears, including cubs. It's absolutely unforgivable," Torricelli told NJ Advance Media during the protest.
Six bears were brought to weight stations Friday, bringing the record total for the 2016 hunt -- including six days in October and another six starting Monday -- to 629.
As of 12:50 p.m. today, no hunters had arrived at the weigh station in Fredon, one of five operated by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The protesters gathered across the street starting at 10 a.m., with more than a half-dozen law enforcement officers present.
State Sen. Ray Lesniak, a Democrat from Union County sponsoring a bill that would end the bear hunt for at least five years, was cheered as he addressed the demonstrators.
"I'm here to make a statement, that this will be the last bear hunt in the state of New Jersey," Lesniak said.
Also present was Bill Crain, the City College of New York professor sentenced to 10 days in jail Thursday following his seventh civil disobedience-related bear hunt protest conviction since 2005.
Crain was wearing a sign reading, "Stop the Slaughter."
He said he had received "tremendous support" since his sentencing, with some promising to visit him in the Sussex County jail after he reports Jan. 6.
"The people here, they're kind of bravely smiling. There's a tremendous pain. They come despite the pain. It'd be easier to just ignore the whole thing," Crain said.
Crain left around noon, the official end of the protest, though many others remained.
Several protesters were holding signs targeting Gov. Chris Christie, and the annual hunts that have occurred since he took office in 2010.
One was holding a sign blaming Christie for the deaths of more than 3,000 bears during the hunts.
Lesniak said, "When we have a new governor, we will have a new look, a new attitude, toward managing the bear population."
DEP spokesman Robert Geist was present Saturday and defended the bear hunt as "responsible and ethical," stating it is supported by "academic studies and years of research on the topic."
"The harvest that happens annually is part of our comprehensive management plan," Geist said, with harvest being a word that DEP typically substitutes for hunting.
Geist said the program "also includes some education, trying to help citizens up here to manage their interactions with bears, and make sure counties like this do have an opportunity to live in harmony with nature."
While bears have been spotted throughout the state, much of the activity is in Sussex County.
Of the 629 bears killed in the hunt through Friday, a total of 342 were killed in Sussex.
The hunt is also taking place in Morris, Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset, Passaic, Bergen and Mercer counties.