Township council recently tabled a proposed ordinance that seeks to open wooded sections of the township to a limited number of licensed bow hunters during the periods when the state allows as a “managed reduction” of the township’s current overpopulation of white-tailed deer. The ordinance was set aside by council at their June meeting after various residents opposed its approval.
In addition to increased deer-vehicle collisions, overabundant deer populations are associated with damage to agricultural crops, ornamental plantings and gardens, and destruction of the natural forest ecosystem, according to the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. A National Deer Association study reported that a whitetail doe can give birth to one to three fawns each year, and that most healthy, adult whitetail does give birth to twins, contributing to their overabundant populations throughout the state.
The proposed ordinance seeks to lower deer-related motor vehicle collisions on township roadways, with the document noting over 600 reported incidents since Jan. 2020. The township determined that a managed reduction of the local deer population was necessary to protect residents and preserve its natural resources.
The NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife authorizes the state’s municipalities to implement the regulation of hunting activities on certain municipal properties in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
The proposed hunting season would align with the state’s Permit Bow Season, which runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, as well as the Winter Bow Season, running from Jan. 1 through Feb. 21. Hunting would be prohibited on Sundays and Dec. 25. The Black Run Preserve would be closed during hunting season.
(The township) desires to implement a humane, safe, and effective hunting and wildlife management program consistent
with state law,” the ordinance notes.
During the public participation portion of the meeting, dozens of residents spoke about the proposed ordinance with the majority opposing its approval. Those in favor of the ordinance focused on the possibility of families or inexperienced drivers being involved in deer-related crashes, preserving the township’s natural resources, and deer indirectly spreading Lyme disease.
A 2010 study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported that deer themselves do not harbor or transmit the Lyme-causing bacterium; research instead shows that the blood of white-tailed deer naturally kills the bacteria, rendering even the ticks that feed on them uninfected.
Those who were against the ordinance, or requested its tabling, expressed concerns for possible hunting-related accidents, the futility of hunting as a method to decrease deer-related vehicle collisions when deer propagate rapidly, hunters disrupting the ecosystem, and closing the Black Run Preserve to the general public for an extended period.
Other residents living near the proposed designated hunting areas also voiced their concern about the possibility of their children being exposed to ricocheted arrows, or a wounded deer that may go unaccounted for by hunters and regulators.
“I want to thank everybody for your comments, this discussion is not necessarily ended; it is just tabled to our next meeting so that we can have some more time to review,” Mayor Jaclyn Veasy explained at the meeting following the council’s 5-0 vote to table the ordinance. “In light of the comments, we want to make sure that the residents know in the direct area about the ordinance that is being presented.”
