All hunting is cruel to the animals, but this hunt is especially cruel because of the utilization of bowhunting. Bowhunting results in a slow, painful death, and wounds many animals who are never recovered. Read the article on the cruelty of bowhunting by Honor and Nonviolence.
How is this hunt dangerous to the public?
*In some parks, hunting with shotguns, muzzleloaders and bows and arrows will be allowed during the same hours that the parks are open to the public. This means that hunters will be shooting at deer in close proximity to where people are picnicking, boating, and hiking.
*A hunter was shot in Crosswicks Creek Park during the 2004/2005 hunt, but the Park System chose to cover up this incident until it was publicized by Save Monmouth County Parks.
*Signage marking the hunt zones during the 2004/2005 hunt was dangerous and confusing. Click here to view examples of dangerous signage.
* Hunting increases car/deer collisions. In an article in the Asbury Park Press (Dec. 14, 1997) the co-owner of M&S Removal, a state contractor that removes deer carcasses from roadways, said that many deer run onto roadways during hunting season because "hunters are scaring them out of the woods." The Erie Insurance Group, Pennsylvania's second largest auto insurer, discovered that car/deer collisions increased by five times on the opening day of doe and buck season.
Won't the use of tree stands eliminate the danger to the public?
*Some hunters during the 2004/2005 hunt did not use tree stands, despite the requirement to use tree stands in the county parks.
*When a hunter pursues an injured deer, there is not enough time to erect a second tree stand before taking a another shot.
*Bullets can ricochet unpredictably when they hit a rock or other hard object.
How does the danger of hunting compare to the danger of other sports?
Hunting is one of the few activities that endanger an entire community, not just the participants and spectators. When people participate in other dangerous activities, they wear helmets, padding and other protective gear. Spectators who attend sporting events accept the risk that they might be hit by a puck or that a car might careen off the track. They put only themselves and other willing participants and spectators at risk. But hunting accidents have injured and killed innocent people hundreds of yards away, who never agreed to accept the risk of participating in or observing a dangerous activity.
Will the hunt prevent Lyme disease?
*Hunting does not prevent Lyme disease. The ticks who carry Lyme disease are spread more by mice than by deer. Click here to learn more about Lyme disease.
*University of Maryland Medicine recommends a product called Damminix to kill the ticks who live on mice. Read one Damminix success story.
*To target the ticks who live on deer, the American Lyme Disease Foundation recommends four-poster deer treatment bait stations to control Lyme Disease.
Will the hunt prevent car/deer collisions?
*Hunting increases car/deer collisions. In an article in the Asbury Park Press (Dec. 14, 1997) the co-owner of M&S Removal, a state contractor that removes deer carcasses from roadways, said that many deer run onto roadways during hunting season because "hunters are scaring them out of the woods."
*The Erie Insurance Group, Pennsylvania's second largest auto insurer, discovered that car/deer collisions increased by five times on the opening day of doe and buck season. A more effective way of preventing car/deer collisions is the use of roadside reflectors, which can reduce collisions by up to 90%.
Will the hunt prevent deer from eating crops and shrubs?
*Hunting will not stop deer from eating shrubs. As long as attractive food sources like hostas and tulips are available and unprotected, the deer will consume them. To prevent damage to landscaping, homeowners can fence their property, use a deer repellant such as Deer Out, or choose deer-resistant plants. View a list of deer-resistant plants online, or just ask your local garden center.
*Hunting will not stop deer from eating crops. As with residential landscaping, as long as attractive food sources are available and unprotected, the deer will be attracted to the property and will consume the crops. New Jersey farmers can now take advantage of a NJ Department of Agriculture program that subsidizes deer fencing to protect crops. Also, deer repellant systems such as Plotsaver can be used.
Don't we need this hunt to control the deer population?
*The Monmouth County Park System admits that the deer are not biologically overpopulated. The Park System claims that the deer are damaging the forests, but if the deer are not overpopulated, the "damage" is the normal result of a healthy deer herd feeding on its natural food source. When/if the deer become overpopulated, insufficient food sources will reduce the population as part of the natural cycle of collapse and recovery.
*Hunting does not reduce the deer population because the remaining deer will have more food, which increases their fertility. Read the report by Honor and Nonviolence.
*Although the deer in Monmouth County Parks are not overpopulated, the herds are growing because the deer are managed to maximize hunting opportunities. Read the report by the Center for Animal Protection.
*This hunt is a cruel sport hunt. NJ hunting clubs worked for three years to get the County to open these parks for hunting and bragged that the hunt was a "done deal" even before the public hearings on the hunt. Until correspondence between the Board and the hunting clubs was discovered, the Board denied that hunting clubs had anything to do with the hunt decision. View the Board's letter to a hunting club.