To the editor
By:
I read with dismay your recent article concerning the proposed ordinance which would permit deer hunting on public lands in Hillsborough.
It appears that the Township Committee proposes to establish a new Wildlife Management Commission to advise on ways to manage the deer population. However, it also appears that in doing so the committee has not only discounted all the work done by a prior committee, but has already decided that the only management plan possible is hunting.
This seems to me to be jumping the gun.
Forming a Wildlife Management Commission appears to be meaningless unless that commission is given an opportunity to explore and recommend a proper course of conduct before any action is taken.
And unless that commission is composed of persons representative of all interests, including (1) parents who are concerned for the safety of their children and understand their propensity to roam the fields without thought of potential dangers or perhaps even to be drawn to a "shooting" (2) experts with knowledge of the various technologies and techniques available to manage deer populations (3) others, including animal rights advocates, who have experience and/or information on what other communities have done and their success or failure.
I am a retired lawyer, living in Hillsborough for the last l2 years and have admired the town’s efforts to retain some of its original country-life atmosphere as the population continues to grow. Open spaces are part of that picture as, inevitably, are deer.
While I do not like to see dead deer that have been struck by cars on the roadside, I certainly do not want to see hunters dragging bloody carcasses out of the woods. I also doubt that people living near the public lands want to have a wounded deer come crashing through their yards or onto the road.
And I am certain that few of our citizens would risk having a child or grownup injured by a careless hunter unless every other avenue is first thoroughly explored.
Can’t we proceed in an orderly way by naming a responsible commission and letting them present all the options?
Woods Road