New Jersey officials vote to ban competitive events that kill wildlife

Tamara Walker, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read
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A family of foxes on the beach in the Ocean Grove section of Neptune

The New Jersey Senate Economic Growth Committee has approved a bill banning the harassing or attacking of coveted wildlife for competitive events.

The act approved on Dec. 4, 2023, will ban organized events such as competitions, contests, derbies, and tournaments in which participants catch or kill wildlife to earn rewards.

"I Just don’t want people to gather together, start drinking beers and say ‘let’s kill squirrels just for the fun of it,’” Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez told lancasterfarming.com.

Covered wildlife animals like a bobcat, coyote, crow, fox, mink, possum, rabbit, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, weasel, woodchuck help control rodent populations.

Under the bill, violators would be charged with disorderly persons offenses and would have hunting and fishing licenses or permits suspended for five years, a penalty of six months in prison, a $1,000 fine or both.

"Such contests are objectionable to the general public and go against science-based wildlife management principles," Kathleen Schatzmann of the Animal Legal Defense Fund told lancastetfarming.com.

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"Maryland, Massachusetts and Vermont have already banned killing contests, and New York’s ban is awaiting action from the governor, Scatzmann told lancasterfarming.com.

This bill requires all injured animals from competitive events to be transported to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or state-licensed veterinarian for proper treatment and authorizes the Division of Fish Wildlife to obtain the remains held in violation of this bill.

The bill directs municipal police officers, the State Police and law enforcement officers in the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Division of Parks and Forestry in the Department of Environmental Protection to enforce the bill’s provision.

Some advocates oppose the ban like Rob Nixon spokesman for the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs. “The measure could be a step toward banning hunting and fishing in the state, even if it’s not intended that way,” Nixon told lancasterfarming.com. Nixon suggests contests are how you can teach hunting.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ state senators approve bill banning 'wildlife killing contests'