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Animal‑protection group urges Old Tappan to consider fertility control, not hunting, for urban deer
Summary
At an Oct. 6 presentation to the Old Tappan Borough Council, Doris Lin of the Animal Protection League of New Jersey said hunting has not reduced suburban deer problems and described nonlethal approaches — including surgical sterilization — that other towns used successfully.
Doris Lin, legal director of the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, told the Old Tappan Borough Council that hunting is not designed to control urban deer populations and urged the borough to consider nonlethal options such as landscape changes, repellents and targeted fertility control.
"Hunting is a failed experiment," Lin said during a 40‑minute presentation summarizing state data, federal funding incentives and case studies from other towns. She told the council the Division of Fish and Wildlife retains incentives to maintain deer numbers because hunter license sales and federal Pittman‑Robertson funds are tied to hunting participation.
Lin cited several studies and examples: she said state population estimates stopped being published after 2018, that Princeton tried a quadrant‑based fertility pilot, and that Clifton, Ohio, used a privately funded program that sterilized a high percentage of females and later reported reductions in deer counts and vehicle carcasses collected. She also described two surgical approaches, noting ovariectomy (removal of ovaries) is permanent while chemical methods (PZP) must be repeated.
Lin gave a ballpark figure used in some recent proposals — roughly $1,000 per surgically sterilized deer in Princeton — and said long‑term costs can be lower for surgical programs when volunteers assist with capture and transport. She also urged the borough to collect local data, identify vehicle‑collision hotspots and prioritize nonlethal steps (fencing, plant choices, signage and lighting) before moving to more costly interventions.
Why it matters: the council is conducting fact‑finding on increasing deer encounters in town. Lin recommended openness to independent research and nonlethal techniques and warned of administrative obstacles: she said state rules requiring broad landowner permission have blocked some municipal fertility plans.
Council members asked Lin detailed questions about costs, logistics and public‑safety tradeoffs during a subsequent Q&A with residents. The council characterized the meeting as fact‑finding and did not take any vote on a policy change.
