Township to Cull Deer Herd Again This Winter
Deer hunt begins on Monday and goes through Jan. 31.
The Township of Millburn will begin this year’s deer hunt to thin the herd on the Par 3 Golf Course and the East Orange Water Company property and adjacent property on Monday.
The hunt, conducted by United Bowhunters of New Jersey using firearms instead of bows and arrows, will go through Jan. 31, 2012.
“Every precaution has been taken to ensure the safety of the public. Hunting will occur with authorized licensed hunters using shotguns from elevated tree stands,” said Lt. Peter Eakley of the Millburn Police Department, which will patrol the areas during the hunt. “Shooting at this angle ensures that the hunter is discharging their firearm directly at the ground, hence dramatically reducing the chances of any additional hazards to the public.”
The culling of the herd will be held Monday through Saturday from a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset, Eakley said. All hunting will be done on public land, but the Par 3 Course is closed for the season and the other land is secured and never opened to the public, he said.
“This preventive hunt is designed to thin the deer herd throughout the Township, hence reducing motor vehicle accidents and property damage to vegetation; while strengthening the vitality of the deer herd,” said Lt. Peter Eakley, spokesman for the Millburn Police Department, which will actively patrol the hunting areas and adjacent areas to ensure safety.
The deer hunt has been an annual activity in Millburn for more than 10 years. In 2000, the Township Committee determined there was a deer overpopulation issue in town because there were many accidents and deer were spotted throughout Short Hills.
Deer culling both locally and countywide has been controversial, with protesters each year looking for non-lethal ways of controlling the deer population and looking to ensure the safety of those who live near areas where deer will be hunted.
At a recent township meeting committee members made it clear that neither residents nor other private property owners are allowed to shoot deer.
A town ordinance does not allow the discharge of weapons, including shotguns or bows and arrows, by anyone other than a sworn police officer "except as authorized by resolution of the Township Committee for purposes of wildlife management," according to 3-28.1 of the township code.
Each year, the township donates the venison from the deer killed to Community Food Bank and has provided for thousands of meals.
For questions or concerns, contact Millburn Police Department Central Communications at (973) 564-7001.
Sunny Forrest
3:13 pm on Friday, December 2, 2011
What a bunch of backward a-holes. Why do people who hate deer live in this area? Why don't they live in the urban areas where they don't have any deer? Deer are not roaches to be exterminated. That golf course was in deer territory long before it was a golf course. What arrogance human beings have. Where does it stop? What does it take for us to learn that we are not the boss of nature? Hurricanes, earthquakes, freak snowstorms in autumn? Get with the program!!
Pucci
10:32 pm on Friday, December 2, 2011
Hay Sunny
Why are you living here on sacred native American land? Why don't you go back to your ancestral home? Your home does not belong here.
Hedley
3:43 pm on Friday, December 2, 2011
Why do deer hate our cars?
MarkDS
3:51 pm on Friday, December 2, 2011
I'm sure the same two people (well maybe more than two but always the same small group) will trot themselves out to protest this and the press will dutifully report on the protests.
The town needs to somehow get the country club to allow a hunt on their land. Once they came close but then got week kneed at the aforementioned two.
BowWowMeow
6:21 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
I'm with you Sunny! Amen! And Hedley, why don't you slow down and open your eyes. Do you really think deer want to be slammed into by your car? And Pucci, I feel sorry for people like you. Do you have a pet? How about you MarkDS?
Hedley
6:31 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
Must be the ticks that made them do it. Anyone have a good recipe for smoked venison?
Pucci
7:19 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2011
Well.... you start with firewood from a sunny forrest, let that burn really hot, then just put skewers of Bambi and friends over the raging fire. Season to taste. Yummy!
Hedley
12:58 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
Maybe you can put your antler hat on and run at my car. Preferably the front.
John Fonseca
9:32 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
Sunny Forrest,
Your posts are very interesting. I'm not sure how you can jump from making derogatory statements about Pucci's assumed ethnic background to Germans being silent.
Do you at all understand why deer herds need to be managed in an environment such as this? It's not about being an animal hater. If it was about hate, then I think it'd be deer eradication and not culling. Yes, this was their environment first, but it's not now. They had a limited amount of land to range on and a limited amount of food there foor them to eat. They will keep on breeding regardless of available land and resources.
What happens then is that they start foraging beyond areas where they can be left alone and they start encroaching on roadways, and residential & commercial areas. That's not good for them and it's not good for us. The other thing that would happen is that deer would start starving to death or at least be weakened due to malnutrition. Malnutrition can then make them more susceptible to disease. Certainly not good for them.
Normally the size of the herd would managed by their natural predators. They're gone, leaving only us to do the job. To me, it seems that killing some of them instantly or near instantly so that the remaining smaller herd is more healthy and safe is more humane than just leaving them on their own.
Susan1
9:33 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
These comments are nasty and not constructive. I hope the Patch editorial staff will remove them and consider banning commenters who are abusive.
Sunny Forrest
10:21 am on Sunday, December 4, 2011
Journalists should not be word police. If it offends you, move on. I personally (and many others who don't offer a voice) am immensely offended by the violent solution that Millburn has reached in dealing with the deer.
People who know the truth, know it is all about their shrubs being eaten by the deer. Deer eat on the edges of wooded areas i.e. the towns that border on the reservations. If the residents like living in an area that has that type of environment then they have to be willing to share "their" land with it's wild residents who are unaware that they are filling their bellies on the landowners precious plants.
As far as roadways. I have lived in deer areas all my life and never had an accident with one. We know that some people are just better and more aware drivers than others.
John I am sorry but I am not convinced that your argument for "culling" the deer is really due to your concern about their health and safety. Please check your facts, but as I understand it when you cut the deer numbers the more robust deer then have a greater incidence of multiple births in one cycle which then increases the herd again.
The cycle of the constant killing is obviously not an efficient or acceptable (to many) solution. There are other methods which would take a larger short term investment but would pay off in the long run.