Suggestions from public sought on controlling deer herd in Princeton Township.
A panel appointed by the Princeton Township Committee to evaluate the township’s Community-Based Deer Management Program plans to hold a meeting today to gather input and suggestions from the public.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. today at Township Hall.
Citizens are asked to attend and present their ideas for coping with Princeton’s deer herd. The evaluation committee held a similar scoping meeting Aug. 15.
Those with suggestions are asked to supply documentation of the effectiveness of what they propose and to outline how their proposal might be implemented in Princeton.
To date, the evaluation committee has been holding discussions with authorities on various aspects of the management of deer and other wildlife.
Princeton Township ended the second year of its deer cull Feb. 22 with 303 deer killed. Connecticut-based wildlife-management firm White Buffalo killed deer at night with high-powered rifles at baited sites, and at netted bait sites with captive-bolt guns, which fire a lethal retractable bolt into the animal’s head.
Princeton Township is the only municipality in the state that has used the controversial bolting method. In 2001, White Buffalo sharpshooters killed 322 deer.
A lawsuit challenging the township cull as hazardous to public safety and a violation of state animal-cruelty laws is pending in the Appellate Division of state Superior Court.