It has come to our attention that the Saddle River Deer Cull may not, in fact, be solely the result of a decision made by the mayor and council of Saddle River.
The borough had previously requested to the state of New Jersey to have sterilization of the deer.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has rejected the borough’s non-lethal deer management plan, which would have required capturing and spaying does to limit populations.
This was reported on May 12, 2018. With this decision by the NJDEP, it left the mayor with no choice but to pursue the avenue of active culling.
Based on this article (read the full article) it seems that the decision to actively cull these deer was not left up to the Saddle River Council but was decided at the state level, which appears to alter who is responsible for this decision. It does not however, change sentiments towards the hunt.
Which leads to a bigger question – why is the NJDEP not supporting a non-lethal method when many other places do?
Why does the state of New Jersey apparently prefer lethal rather than non-lethal methods of wildlife management?
Questions that need to be addressed and answered.
As the the intention of Citizens4USR is to present balanced and informed information our goal is to provide what we can and let the public make their own decisions, therefore while this post may not be popular, it does contain relevant facts.
Please read the comments for additional information provided by local residents!
“Blame” and responsibility belong with two groups: the Saddle River Council and the pro-hunting government organization that denied the sterilization proposal (NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife – State of NJ). The NJDEP DFW has incredibly stringent requirements for sterilization and birth control plans–requirements designed so it can deny proposals–while it accepts loosey-goosey hunt-and-kill sprees. The Saddle River Council did not have to resort to hunting. There is no statewide decree that says a town should and must hunt. The Saddle River Council chose to institute a hunt. It’s wanted to since the get-go, and it leaped at the opportunity. The Saddle River Council has inflated the “deer problem.” It’s spread fear and hysteria about wildlife natural to our area. The Council has not instituted strategies recommended by the Humane Society and other respected organizations and individuals who use science and humane approaches, and the Council is going against the majority of residents who voted for non-lethal measures.
Thank you very much for your comment and all the additional information. These are all very valid points and definitely worth knowing about. Based on what you’re saying, it seems that the ‘hunt’ is what both government bodies want as it’s probably a lot cheaper (they don’t need to fund it).
Bravo Allegra for being fair and balanced! I have been trying to tell many Citizens4USR this since day one of this ruckus that my good friend and Mayor of Saddle River Al Kurpis is no “killer”. In fact he was the one who connected me on July 28, 2018 with SR Town Administrator Jerry Giamius and released the infamous NJDEP written decision. You can view it on our Facebook GreenUSR page if you want to read it in its entirety. Thanks again to be fair and balanced. Perhaps the Grey Lady could learn some from your journalistic ethics canons of seeking truth and reporting it, minimizing harm, acting independently and be accountable.
If you believe this propaganda I’ll give you a couple of more,. So please don’t believe anything you read this is just a cover-up as they always do ,… typical politicians they don’t want to take the blame after they spill the blood and wash their hands look at Como they all do the same crap…!!!!!
If this is true why isn’t it happening to any other town but Saddle River think about that…, . poor poor Saddle River mayor and poor poor Council they have been blamed for something they have not been doing for 4 years including killing the coyotes…. In all of New Jersey where there is definitely a lot more deer problem ,only in Saddle River where there is no deer problem and this is a proven fact. So you tell me they’re innocent I’ll give you another crap to believe if your are that gullible.
Thank you very much for your comment. With the article we are not trying to state that what Saddle River did is right. If they went to the NJ State government to get approval for sterilization and then proceeded to be denied, they shouldn’t have gone on with the process – the inhumane process of killing the deer. However they did. Their decision to go ahead was 100% their decision. However, many individuals in past commented on the fact that the Saddle River council hadn’t even tried that route, which was misinformation. They had tried that route but had been denied. That is the point of this post to show that they had tried it, even if it was a formality – so we wanted to make sure everyone was aware that this had been an option. Their next decision to go ahead with a hunt, however, is unnecessary and something they MUST be held accountable too. It’s not like we’re exactly overrun with deer here. Did they even do a deer census? They may be seeing the same 3 families of deer and think they’re overrun. They can claim what they want, but without proof, it’s nothing.
Good response Citizens4USR. Keep the readers engaged. Bravo! One day Mayor Kurpis and Mayor Minichetti instead of “fake” advisers will be listened to the community…..represented by a social media outpost like yours. (…..let me dream).