Backyard deer hunt sparks controversy in Saddle River, New Jersey
SADDLE RIVER, New Jersey (WABC) -- Some New Jersey residents are sounding the alarm about a controversial deer hunting program that allows participants to hunt on private property.
The program allows people with proper permits to bow hunt in Saddle River, the only town in Bergen County that allows residential backyard hunting.
The goal is to curb the deer population, which would also reduce ticks and other health risks.
But animal rights groups oppose the program, and some residents are concerned about allowing hunting in residential areas.
Saddle River is a slice of Bergen County spotted with multi-acre, tree-lined mansion properties - and the wildlife that comes with it.
But the geese swimming in the ponds aren't the ones stirring debate in Saddle River. It's the deer.
One image, too graphic for television, shows a wounded deer with an arrow through its face wandering through a backyard.
"Many times they're not dead," resident Deborah Hardesty told Eyewitness News. "They wander in excruciating pain from one property to the next."
"I could have a neighbor that's dispensing lethal arrows next door to me which travel up to 450 feet per second. I have no idea," said Vincent Blehl. "The other issue is, as you can see, the properties are quite large. They're typically wooded. The hunters have no idea where the property lines are."
According to the borough, the deer population is four times the ecologically sustainable level.
A survey it conducted last spring found 228 deer within its borders. That's 42 deer per square mile.
The survey also cites a risk to public safety via vehicle collisions and Lyme disease.
But the borough had implemented a version of its controversial deer culling program two years ago.
Some residents complied data from police reports after the first year, and they say public records show collisions actually increased.
"The wound rate is over 50%," said Blehl. "So what happens is, when the deer are wounded they actually bolt out into traffic."
"The biggest issue is that this town is completely focused on their plantings and the aesthetics of their backyards," said Hardesty.
Here are some of the deer management program's rules:
The hunt is conducted by United Bow Hunters.
Hunting is not permitted on borough-owned land. It is allowed only on residential properties with written landowner permission.
Only bow hunting is permitted. No firearms are allowed.
And coyotes can be hunted if the hunter is engaged in authorized deer culling.
"If people don't want deer, they should live in Hoboken or New York," said Hardesty. "You come here because it's nature. You don't eliminate nature. And they actually wanted to kill the coyotes who are the only natural predator to the deer!"
Hunting season started two days ago and goes until February.
We reached out to the mayor of Saddle River several times via several phone calls and messages and even an in-person visit to Borough Hall.
We have not yet heard back.
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