Princeton Township deer cull within sight of target

In roughly 12 days, 80 deer have been killed.

By: Rachel Silverman
   In roughly 12 days of work, White Buffalo — the wildlife management group commissioned to reduce deer overpopulation in Princeton Township — has killed 80 deer.
   With a target goal of 100 to 125 for the season, company President Tony DeNicola anticipates White Buffalo’s work will be finished in about two more weeks.
   This timeline however, partially depends on the weather, as wintry conditions force the deer out in search of food, and into baited traps.
   "Mother Nature has to cooperate," Mr. DeNicola said. "The cold weather should help some."
   The four-person White Buffalo team is experiencing some slowing as a result of what the wildlife specialist called "diminishing returns."
   "We’re not dealing with a lot of deer here," he explained.
   Unlike previous years, this season’s deer-culling program does not involve the controversial practice of netting and bolting.
   "We have pretty good coverage with our shooting opportunities," Mr. DeNicola said, explaining why captive bolting is no longer employed.
   White Buffalo’s renewed program this year is the result of a recent township-wide deer count, which placed the number of area deer at 493, significantly above the stated goal of 340.
   Though initially some had hoped the numbers would be low enough to maintain with sport-hunting alone, the study proved otherwise.
   "We needed to augment their efforts with sharp-shooting," Mr. DeNicola said, calling the idea that hunters could maintain the deer population on their own "not realistic."
   Such culling practice has proved a controversial subject even before the program began. While some view culling as inhumane, others believe the area’s exploding deer population, which has resulted in a large number of auto accidents, vegetation erosion and incidents of Lyme disease, must be controlled.
   When the program began in 2001, there were an estimated 1,600 deer in the township. Since culling began, a total of 1,181 deer have been killed by White Buffalo.
   "We’re basically at maintenance mode now," Mr. DeNicola said. "We’ll reassess in 2006."
   While the next two weeks are expected to constitute the final stretch of the five-year lethal culling program, research on immunocontraceptive techniques, conducted by Rutgers graduate student B.J. Hubert, will continue until May.