COLTS NECK — At least 19 deer-related incidents involving motor vehicle accidents, injured deer and illegal hunting plagued the township in September and October, according to details provided by the Colts Neck Police Department.
Committeeman Thomas Orgo, who is the Township Committee’s liaison to the Colts Neck Wildlife Committee, shared the information during the Nov. 12 committee meeting.
“We are just getting more and more all the time,” he said.
The information included details of 19 reported incidents from Sept. 26 through Oct. 9.
Several motor vehicle accidents were reported on Route 537 and Route 34.
Other calls involved an injured deer on a playing field at the Cedar Drive Middle School, a deceased deer on the shoulder of Phalanx Road, deer antlers stuck in a tennis net on Matthews Road, and hunters tracking deer on Muhlenbrink Road without permission from the property owner.
Committeeman Jarrett Engel said he had an incident near his house in which a deer ran into his car and jumped on the hood.
“We have heard a lot of comments from people saying slow down, put on your bright lights, be more careful driving,” Engel said. “But you can’t stop them from running into you.”
In August, the committee adopted an ordinance to permit the hunting of whitetailed deer on certain private properties in the township. Since then, Orgo said, he has been closely monitoring deer-related incidents. He said officials are not going to be able to analyze the ordinance’s impact until at least the spring.