State game council approves township deer culling plan

The New Jersey Fish and Game Council voted Saturday to approve Princeton Township's controversial deer-culling program, reversing a decision the council made Jan. 16 forbidding the population management plan.

The 7-2 vote in favor of the deer control, a stark contrast to last month's 5-4 vote against it, is largely due to the township's efforts to alleviate council members' concerns for game hunters. Since January, the township added to its plan the stipulation that the professional deer-control company, White Buffalo, Inc., will not target deer on private property where sport hunting takes place.

Council member Ed Kertz, who voted against the township's proposal the last time it came before his board, said that it was the new measure on behalf of hunters that changed his mind.

"Originally I voted no based on Princeton not working with the hunters," Kertz said. "They were displacing a lot of sportsmen that pay a good fee for the opportunity to hunt in this state...They were getting pushed aside."

Kertz said the move to eliminate deer where hunters won't be able to hunt, such as in residential areas, satisfied his concerns.

The council's vote signals the continuation of a longstanding township debate about how to curtail the overwhelming deer population in the area. White Buffalo will use three methods, net-and-bolt technique, hired sharpshooting and a birth control vaccine.

Local and national animal rights activists continue to protest the township's wildlife management policies, particularly netting and bolting — which involves trapping the deer and delivering a fatal blow to the head — and sharpshooting.

Carl Mayer '81, a lawyer on behalf of the opposition, said that the plan is "not only inhumane, but dangerous for the community" because some of the control will occur in places such as the woods owned by the Institute for Advanced Study, where many students and community members jog.

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Township mayor Phyllis Marchand, however, was happy with the council's decision, deeming it necessary for the well being of the township.

"I'm very pleased that they have approved our plan," she said. "It's in the best interest of the public health and safety of Princeton residents as well as anybody else passing through our area. It's also in the best interest of preservation of our natural environment."