Fish and Game Council votes to end deer reduction program

If anyone heard a faint rustling in the trees recently, it wasn't the wind. It was a collective sigh of relief coming from the deer in Princeton Township.

On Thursday, the New Jersey State Fish and Game Council voted to halt the Township's efforts to reduce deer population with lethal methods. The unexpected decision represents a victory for animal rights activists who have been calling for an end to the Township's deer culling program for nearly two years.

"We're thrilled, because a lot of people have worked so hard for a long time on behalf of the wilderness and the animals," said Carl Mayer '81, a lawyer representing the interests of concerned activists in Princeton.

In 2001, the Township hired the Connecticut-based company White Buffalo to kill deer through sharpshooting and net-and-bolt technique — which involved trapping deer and delivering a bolt to its head. The company killed 322 deer by sharpshooting during 2001 and 303 by net and bolt in the winter of 2002. The Township's proposed birth-control method has not yet been implemented.

The 11 members of the Fish and Game Council based their decision mainly on the concerns of hunters, not on those of animal-rights activists, council chairman W. Scott Ellis told The Times of Trenton.

"They were concerned that the town and the White Buffalo group were killing deer that hunters should be able to kill," he explained.

Animal-rights activists' primary objection to the Township's program was its use of the highly controversial net and bolt method. The method involves trapping up to seven deer under one net and shooting a five-inch metal rod through the forehead of each deer. Since the rod can often slip and go through a deer's eyes or nose, it may take up to half an hour for the animal to die.

Governor James McGreevey has publicly characterized the method as "heinous."

Township officials defended the deer-culling program, citing a 50 percent reduction in deer-related car accidents since the program began.

"Needless to say, we were extremely disappointed with the vote," said Deputy Mayor Bill Enslin. He said the township will explore a compromise with the council and is likely to pursue sharpshooting as well as the possibility of opening up certain sections of public parks to hunters.

A number of Princeton students and professors have taken an active stance against the deer-culling program.

University ethicist Peter Singer said he was "delighted" by Thursday's results, but "puzzled and disappointed" that the Council had voted against a nonlethal, birth control option. The pilot birth-control program would have involved an FDA-approved vaccine and careful tracking of what the individual does to ensure success.

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Singer attributed the Council's decision to "the influence of hunters, who are thinking of their 'sport' rather than of the interests of the deer."

Ray Povalski, who represents the activist organization SORT.org — Saving Our Resources Today — an environmental and animal welfare group that has worked closely with Mayer and number of other lawyers — was quick to express his approval of the Council's vote.

He stressed, however, that his group will remain vigilant of future Township actions. He said he was concerned that the Township has failed to acknowledge the cruelty of the net and bolt method.

"If the battle does heat up, we'd like to invite students to join in the discourse," he said.