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 Home > News and alerts > You are here: New Jersey bill suspends urban deer hunting New Jersey bill suspends urban deer hunting (5/31/2002) A legislative
leader is drafting a bill in New Jersey that would ban deer hunting for
at least one year and study new means of controlling wildlife
populations. The
bill, which will be sponsored by Senate President Richard Codey (D-West
Orange), would set up a task force – which would include at least one
representative from an animal rights group - to investigate statewide
suburban wildlife management practices. The task force would recommend
alternative methods of controlling deer, Canada geese, black bears and
coyotes to the legislature. All urban deer control programs, including
hunting, would be suspended while the research is being conducted. Anti-hunting
groups initially opposed the idea because the newly created task force
would include a sportsmen’s representative and the director of the
Division of Fish and Wildlife. The attempts to exclude these
representatives show that the anti’s view this bill as the first step
toward removing sportsmen and hunting from wildlife management. “Our
understanding was that it (the draft bill) was going to be a bill that
was to propose non-lethal methods,” said Terry Fritzges, a
representative for the Animal Rights Alliance. New
Jersey already has an agency charged with managing wildlife – the New
Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife - which has successfully managed
wildlife for decades. Under Senator Codey’s original bill, the
Division would have been given one seat on the task force. The
purpose of this bill is to provide anti-hunters with an official
platform to convince people to oppose hunting. Maryland’s anti-hunting
governor Parris Glendening created a similar task force that included
representatives from animal rights groups including the Fund for Animals
and the Humane Society of the United States. The results predictably
were slanted in opposition to hunting. New
Jersey sportsmen should act now. Contact your senator and tell them that
sportsmen have funded scientific wildlife management for decades and it
has resulted in the healthiest animal populations in history. Tell them
to leave wildlife management in the hands of professionals with the
Division of Fish and Wildlife. To learn your state Senator’s name and for contact information, call (609) 292-4840. CopyrightÓ U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance- www.ussportsmen.org
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