On Thursday July 26, 2018 Saddle River passed a deer culling ordinance. Otherwise known as a wildlife management plan.
In a clandestine meeting after telling the public that no vote would be taken that night the mayor and council voted – against the wishes of the majority of the residents and approved a deer hunt. And for good measure they included coyotes.
Hunting was going to be allowed, but the approved method was unclear.
In a further meeting on August 22, 2018 the terms of the hunt were clarified as being allowed for 6 months, for 6 days a week, from 6 to 6.
Rumors are that the hunt begins on September 1, 2018 and that ‘stands’ will be used as the hunters have to shoot in a downward direction.
But there are a lot of questions that don’t have answers.
And the Borough website has no information on it.
To date the most information available is from an article in NorthJersey.com and reading it doesn’t fill in the blanks.
With one day until September 1 2018 it is unclear:
Exactly what the approved killing method is to be.
Who the hunters are – everyone over 10 years of age?
What are the terms of the license – the day / the week / the season?
How many licenses will be issued?
What is the protocol if the deer is wounded and runs onto private property?
OR THE ROAD?
And causes an accident?
Where is the liability?
Is public and private property protected by the town against damage from the hunt?
Has Saddle River taken an insurance policy for liabilities and lawsuits?
How will they ensure humane hunting?
What are the protocols for wounded animals?
Are the police prepared with their weapons?
An interesting note is the Working Session of the mayor and council scheduled for August 30, 2018 was postponed and recheduled for September 12, 2018.
12 days after the hunt was rumored to begin!
Maybe the unanswered questions are the problem.
Which begs another question – what if hunting occurs before they have set the guidelines?
So many unanswered questions.
To be clear Saddle River is an affluent community with large properties on generous acreages but not much public land. This is not the Adirondacks.
We are a small rural community of three thousand residents, (approximately 1250 homes) within an area slightly less than five square miles. Our local government is dedicated to maintaining the bucolic character of the Borough thereby providing a quiet and friendly environment to live and raise a family.
This pastoral and bucolic setting is now the scene of questionable practices to ensure the ‘wildlife’ in this rural community that they so cherish, are culled, and as the clock is ticking there are too many unresolved answers. The potential for injury and damage is not inconsequential. There has been no survey of the deer population, there is no quota, there are no guidelines.
Which all is interesting as 59% voters voted for non-lethal methods.
So much for the will of the people.
But then again, this is Nixon country.