This morning was the hearing for the Sunday Bowhunting bill. In the end, the
bill was "held", which means that it was not voted on. It obviously did not
have the support to pass the Agriculture committee in it's present form,
which is wonderful. However, an amendment was put forth that would exclude
parks from Sunday hunting. The sponsor of the bill was not there, so it was
held for further discussion.

This is not a complete victory for us, but a victory none the less! And I
want to thank all of those people who have written, called and who attended
the hearing this morning. if you had not worked so hard, this bill may have
been released from committee. The future of this bill is not certain. It is
possible that it will come back again, and when it does, we will be ready to
fight it.

An interesting thing of note was that no one from Fish and Game appeared at
the hearing. This is the first time that I have ever seen them miss a
hearing for a pro-hunting bill. Perhaps they were afraid if they did attend
they would have to answer some questions that they would rather not, such as
why they are clear cutting 400 acres of state land for the purpose of
creating food for deer, when they say that they are trying to reduce the
deer herd.

I know that they read the Sunday bowhunting alert that I sent out last week
in which I wrote about this disaster, and I know that they will read this
one as well. Let me assure you and them that we will not just sit by and let
this massive devastation happen. By their own actions, Fish and Game has
once again exposed their hypocrisy.

In addition to this, Fish and Game is increasing deer in deer management
zone 24, which just happens to touch the districts of Senators Bark and
Connors, who are members of the Senate Ag committee. Sue Russel, my
colleague with the League, wrote the following:

Even as Division of Fish and Wildlife staff and hunter-clients testify that
Sunday bowhunting is "needed" to control white-tail populations, DFW is
coming under fire for deliberately increasing the number of deer per square
mile in Deer Management Zone (DMZ) 24, which is partially in Committee
Co-Chair Martha Bark's District 8.  Ms. Bark has supported recent
controversial deer-kill bills.

Part of DMZ 24 is in Committee member Leonard Connor's district 8.

At a November 21, 2001 Endangered and Nongame Species Program Advisory
Committee meeting, a conservationist "expressed concern and requested an
explanation for the planned in [deer] population for Zone 24 . . ."

DF&W employee Dan Ferrigno replied:

"Zone 24 is currently at an estimated 13 deer per mile and is under minor
adjustment with a goal of increasing the population by 5% in an effort to
sustain the desired 15 deer/mile population."*

The animals are being managed, like crops, for "recreational" hunting.

Similarly, under a system called fee-hunting (farmers charge from $50 to
$450 per hunter, per day), agricultural lands in New Jersey are managed for
increased deer. Legislators who receive complaints from farmers may be
surprised to learn that USDA's South Jersey RC&D Council, Inc., instructs
farmers how to plant preferred habitat for deer, geese, turkeys and other
species deemed "pests" by the Farm Bureau.

For obvious reasons, continued management of white-tailed deer for "optimum
sustainable yield," or an artificial surplus for hunters, and annihilating
these animals where DF&W management becomes problematic for everyone else,
is ethically untenable.

The Sunday Hunting Bill, part of an unprecedented power and land grab by
DF&W and allied agencies, should be voted down. The committee should begin
the public's business of reconstituting the state wildlife agency, ridding
it of pervasive gun industry influence, and immediately halting deer
enhancement, or farming, projects.

                         --Sue Russell, Co-Founder League of Animal Protection Voters
______________
*Endangered and Nongame Species Program Advisory Committee. November 21,
2001. Meeting Minutes.

I hope that you all realize just how badly the bowhunters, Fish and Game and
the Federation of Sportsmen wanted this bill passed today, and at how angry
they are that we are fighting against it. When I got home today, after the
hearing, the following email was waiting for me. I won't say all hunters are
like this guy, but there sure do seem to be a lot of them, and they love to
email me.

*Be warned, the following is harsh and if foul language offends you, you may
not want to read it.

------
"listen you    ... where do YOU get the to say what I, a
hunter, can do or NOT do on sudays? if you want to walk thru the woods
w/ ur family... if u wanna walk thru the woods ur fair game... keep out
"
Stu Chaifetz
www.HonorandNonViolence.com