Please protest deer hunts in Essex County – South Mountain and Eagle Rock Reservations and Hilltop

BACKGROUND

The Essex County deer hunts in South Mountain and Eagle Rock Reservations and Hilltop which began in mid-January continue. A West Orange resident who was hiking in Eagle Rock Reservation yesterday briefly describes what he saw and his comments:

“My dogs led me to a deer that was struggling in a few feet of water but unable to get up (deer1 photo, attached). It was alive, but clearly dying. I suspected that it might be a still-living victim of the deer hunt. I returned to the scene a few hours later and the deer had died and rolled over. There was a clear puncture in its underside, just above its left front shoulder. It appears to have been shot.

We have been told these are “humane” hunts, but I do not think the so-called sharpshooters are all they are cracked up to be, and I don’t believe they are tracking these animals after they shoot them. This deer appears to have struggled for days.”

What would it be like to be hiking with your children and find a deer in such distress? What would it be like to have a deer shot with a bullet or an arrow come on to your property to bleed out and die?

THERE IS NOTHING HUMANE ABOUT THESE HUNTS!! They are nothing but SANCTIONED ANIMAL CRUELTY. I urge you to contact the West Orange Township Council by phone and email to express your STRONG OPPOSITION to these hunts which are affecting all neighboring communities.


WHOM TO CONTACT

Email block

council@westorange.org , SenCodey@njleg.org , AswJasey@njleg.org , AsmMcKeon@njleg.org , joedi@admin.essexcountynj.org

Individual

West Orange Township Council
66 Main Street
West Orange, NJ 07052
(973) 325-4155
council@westorange.org

Senator Richard J. Codey
(973) 535-5017
SenCodey@njleg.org

Assemblywoman Mila M. Jasey
(973) 762-1886
AswJasey@njleg.org

Assemblyman John F. McKeon
(973) 275-1113
AsmMcKeon@njleg.org

Online Contact Form HERE


SAMPLE LETTER

Dear West Orange Township Council, Senator Codey, Assemblywoman Jasey, and Assemblyman McKeon:

Essex County deer hunts in South Mountain and Eagle Rock Reservations and Hilltop, which began in mid-January, continue, in misguided attempts to reduce deer numbers in populated areas. Although these hunts are inherently cruel based on the premise alone, it is important to recognize they are based on erroneous information.

Please allow me to illustrate a few of these concerns. First, ecologically, populations will fluctuate according to conditions and naturally-occurring food sources; it is the interference of humans that causes imbalance. To blame and slaughter the deer for human encroachment is both irresponsible and unjustified.

Second, killing deer artificially increases food supplies to the remaining deer, the consequence of which is increased reproduction and an ensuing greater deer population. In fact, studies have demonstrated that the continual cycle of seasonal hunting is responsible for a rebound, or larger herd populations, in subsequent years.

Third, this type of mass killing using such a brutal type of slaughter in such a central and visible location, of which there have been negative eyewitness reporting already, would certainly adversely affect both visitation and tourism; it would be financially detrimental to continue with such a cruel and unnecessary killing, and although I do not currently reside in Essex County I would be unwilling to consider it, or nearby, as a potential vacation destination if this deer cull continues.

Fourth, hunters often spend hours following bloody tracks before finding wounded deer, if they look at all. Many deer are not found, and their deaths are slow and painful. It can take weeks for them to succumb to their injuries. Families are then torn apart, and young and weak animals starve or die of dehydration.

Please instead examine alternative, non-lethal options such as fencing, fertility control, and relocation according to established protocols when using these methods, which have all proven successful in curtailing deer populations.

I know your time is limited and I want to thank you each for your attention to this urgent matter.

NAME



See More:

• Vegan Guides
• Cruelty-Free

No hunt can be called humane
Hunting is all about bloodshed and pain

Karen Lyons Kalmenson