The following terrible bills were pulled from last Thursdays agenda when the relevant committee cancelled the hearing. Well keep you posted. A3120: Requires the New Jersey Game Council to set open seasons for summer months for bow hunting deer and other, unidentified species as seen fit by the hunters council, on cultivated land. Inhumane: Does give birth in late spring and early summer; fawns will stay with their mothers for up to a year. Aside from the wholesale destruction of deer, open summer seasons will lead to an epidemic of orphaned fawns. Undue Influence: The vast majority of outdoor recreationists in NJ are not hunters, but photographers, hikers, cyclists, and others. The non-hunting majority does not expect open season bow hunting during the summer, when families may freely use public lands. Much cultivated land is on public shooting grounds purchased by the general taxpayer. NJ residents should not be expected to tolerate the upsetting sights and sounds of hunting, and associated safety risks, to satisfy the self-interest of a demanding few. A3121 : Multi-Species Depredation Permit. Permits authorize agents of the owner or lessee, to kill any animal of a species listed in the permit which is on the land and known to cause crop damage. The legislation invites abuse: Known to cause crop damage can apply to a vast swath of species; known to cause and causing crop damage are two different things. A wide range of species feed on crops; this utilization is considered the cost of doing business; often the damage is light. For localized hot spots involving Canada geese or deer, economic damage should be substantiated (inspections of alleged economic damage, say past state reports, are exaggerated) and non-lethal methods more effective than shooting employed. A3118 : Model Wildlife Management Plans. Wildlife management is a euphemism for killing and generally managing land to produce (enhance) species for the gun. A3118 permits shooting and agricultural partisans to expropriate the so-called management of public land (and wildlife) purchased by general taxpayers. Unilateral Power: The deliberately vague bill would gift the hunting agency and an agriculture development group with unilateral power to force unspecified and often inhumane, self-serving, and unpopular practices on open space and farm preservation lands purchased by general taxpayers. All this, when hunters comprise less than one percent of the states population. Under the current anti-wildlife political alignment in Trenton and unholy partnerships, NJ has become a state where few animals for whom hunting or trapping licenses are sold are safe, anywhere, at any time. That is unacceptable.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:15:27 +0000