Bill Crain, a psychology professor at City College of New York, will report to the Sussex County jail Jan. 6.
UPDATE: Bear hunt tally hits 3,000 killed since N.J. resumed hunt in 2010
ANDOVER TOWNSHIP - Psychology professor Bill Crain knew that his seventh arrest for protesting New Jersey bear hunt in October would likely land him in jail as a repeat offender.
Bill Crain is arrested during a bear hunt protest on Dec. 3, 2012, at the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area in Fredon. (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) His attorney argued Thursday in municipal court that two or three days, at most, would be appropriate for the 72-year-old who walks with difficulty and is planning a hip replacement.
Instead, Crain was sentenced to 10 days in the Sussex County lockup.
"Bears, like humans, have families, emotions and individual personalities. Like us, each bear wants to live," Crain told Municipal Court Judge James Devine. "These defenseless animals need our help."
Crain, of Dutchess County, N.Y., admitted he walked along the road by a state Department of Environmental Protection weigh station in Fredon, Sussex County, where hunters were bringing dead bears, and refused to return to the area set aside for protesters.
Devine, though sentencing Crain to the 10-day term, spoke favorably of him from the bench.
"I do appreciate the manner in which Dr. Crain goes about his business," Devine said. "Dr. Crain has always comported himself with dignity and nonviolence, which I applaud him for."
Devine agreed to let Crain report to the county jail on Jan. 6, when classes will be in winter recess at City College of New York. Crain, a psychology professor, had expressed a desire not to interrupt his teaching schedule.
Though sentenced to 10 days in jail, Perez said that under guidelines he is expecting Crain to serve seven days.
Crain's six prior convictions dating to the 2005 hunt were resolved with fines, including a $1,500 penalty in January. He expressed a readiness for a jail sentence following his arrest Oct. 10, the first day of the 2016 bear hunt.
Crain's attorney, Daniel Perez, alluded to the controversy surrounding New Jersey's bear hunt, which resumed Monday following the six-day season in October and through Thursday resulted in a record 623 bears being killed.
The previous high, 592 bears in 2010, was surpassed Tuesday.
"He is prepared to serve time in jail," Perez said, adding, "I submit that his suffering in jail will be symbolic of the suffering of the bears in this hunt."
Crain was fined $750 in addition to his jail term.
Perez described Crain as "the face of the anti-hunting demonstrations in the state of New Jersey," and said his peaceful dissents followed in a tradition of civil disobedience exemplified by Rosa Parks and Mahatma Gandhi.
Municipal Prosecutor Anthony Arbore called Crain "a somewhat misguided martyr."
Two others arrested for similarly exiting the protest area on the hunt's first day - Catherine McCartney, of Vernon, and Eleanor Hoffman, of Rockaway - were also in court Thursday to plead guilty for violating the protest area. Both first-time offenders, were fined $250.
Hoffman said hunters at the weigh station sought to provoke the demonstrators.
"They drove out with smiles, just to get a rise from the protesters," Hoffman told Judge Devine. "I believe life is previous, no matter what form it takes."
McCartney also used her opportunity to address the judge to take a stand against the bear hunt.
"I'd just like to say the hunt is wrong. DEP knows it," McCartney said, sparking an interruption from Arbore and a brief debate with Perez before Devine allowed her to proceed. "This is not wildlife management. It's extreme animal cruelty."
Outside of court, Crain said he is planning to attend the bear hunt protest in Fredon on Saturday, the final day of the hunt.
But he does not intend to get arrested for an eighth time.
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.