OCEAN TOWNSHIP — The Township Council is searching for options to deal with the growing number of deer in the area.
Mayor Christopher Siciliano said during the Nov. 12 council workshop meeting that an increased deer population is resulting in more collisions with cars and a general health concern for residents.
“We are in discussions right now, we have a problem, there’s been a problem,” he said. “We are seeing carcasses all over town, on the roads kids are walking to the bus stops.”
Township Manager Andrew Brannen said the deer have traditionally inhabited Joe Palaia Park but have recently begun to migrate into residential neighborhoods.
“I live in a very dense neighborhood, and they are in our neighborhood in areas where we’ve never seen deer before,” he said.
“That has us concerned because evidently there is not enough of what they need in the park. Now we are seeing them migrate out of the park into these areas.”
During the meeting, the council heard a presentation by Doris Lin, legislative district director of the League of Humane Voters of New Jersey, suggesting the township use non-lethal darts as a form of birth control, special light reflectors to keep deer off roadways and signage to warn motorists.
Nancy Ehrlich, of the Animal Protection League, also said it is common to see deer earlier in the day during the late fall.
“The daylight makes a difference because it is darker earlier and their clock [says] it is time to go out and feed earlier,” she said.
Siciliano said the administration is just beginning discussion of the deer population problem and he does not plan to take official action any time soon.