Deer management bill passes committee

Senator Steven Oroho’s bipartisan legislation to improve deer management in New Jersey to reduce car crashes and crop damage was approved by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.
“It’s no secret that deer can be a nuisance in New Jersey’s rural and suburban communities,” Oroho said. “Car accidents involving deer account for thousands of collisions a year across the state. Farmers in my district tell me that deer account for 70 percent of their wildlife crop damage. This legislation is practical, bipartisan, and will benefit New Jersey as a whole.”
Oroho’s legislation expands the lawfulness of deer hunting on forested land that has experienced deer damaged in the past year.
It also forbids the intentional feeding of deer unrelated to hunting, clarifies the legality of deer baiting for hunting purposes, and establish a “Hunters Helping the Hungry Fund” to support Hunters Helping Hungry.
HHH is a nonprofit that works with regional food banks to provide hungry New Jersey residents with nutritious, high-protein venison meat, which has been donated to the organization by deer hunters.
Oroho noted that New Jersey ranks 13th in the nation in terms of deer-vehicle crashes, and that there are no natural predators to deer in the Garden State.
“The purpose of this legislation is to maintain a healthy deer population that remains compatible with current land use practices and public safety,” Oroho added. “Expanding deer hunting while feeding the homeless is a win-win for all.”