From the mid-1970's through the 1980's, the Division and the Fish and Game Council sought to allow deer numbers to increase within sections of the inner coastal plain including Salem, western Cumberland, Gloucester, northwestern Burlington and western Monmouth counties. By 1990, with the exceptions of Island Beach State Park, a small portion of Cap May County located below the Cape May canal and a few other isolated areas, deer occupied all available range. This legislative attempt to reduce the deer herd will fail as previous attempts have. There is no greater example of this than when the Legislature made baiting deer legal. Fish and Game estimates that hunters, who are now feeding deer across the state, put out 1,000,000 pounds of food for deer.
More food means more deer.
The law that was supposed to reduce deer population has been used to increase it. If this is the end result of 100 years of deer management through killing, then killing is not effective in reducing deer populations. The League is proposing that an 18 month study be undertaken by an independent university to assess the impact of Fish and Games' management of NJ's deer herd. Deer are a species that have been born and bred for the sole purpose of being killed for recreation. For this reason we should be showing these animals compassion and treat them honorably.