Love Hurts: Deer Mating Season Means Damage To Cars, Deer

By Carol Gorga Williams

COLTS NECK, NJ - With white-tailed deer mating season under way, motorists in Colts Neck should be wary of encountering deer even in less rural sections of the township. The Colts Neck Wildlife Committee meets next week to discuss the issues surrounding the season, according to a notice posted on the township's website. A meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in which officials will discuss the possible rise in motor vehicle collisions during mating season. Furthermore, the notice said, with more deer comes a possible increase in Lyme Disease, a tick-borne ailment that is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and marked by recurrent arthritis and an annual rash and while responsive to early detection and treatment, may produce flu-like symptoms in patients.

Although deer are often blamed for the increase in Lyme, a report by Rutgers University Agricultural Experiment Station said research shows that the uptick is being driven by smaller animals. Deer still may carry the disease, however, and there are several more tick-related diseases and ailments that can be carried by the deer population.

Reducing the size of huntable land will help keep the deer population down but as with hunting on any property in Colts Neck, if approved, it would require the appropriate state authorizations as well as written permission from the property owner. Deer hunting is only allowed on private property, according to the wildlife committee.

More immediately threatening, however, is the likelihood of vehicle crash increases as deer move into the areas between the woods and developed properties and roadways to forage for food, according to Rutgers. The possibility of encountering deer increases at dawn and dusk and according to the local wildlife committee, the best solution for that is for drivers to be more aware while they are traveling. The chance of hitting a deer is 1 in 191, according to the Rutgers overview of deer management policy in New Jersey. Township police are reminding those involved in deer-related crashes to complete accident report forms, which are available on the township website.

High on the Colts Neck Wildlife Committee agenda Monday is a discussion of whether deer hunting should be permitted on smaller tracts of land, those 3 acres or less. Currently, township ordinance provides for hunting on larger parcels, only after hunters have secured appropriate hunting permits from the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. According to Rutgers, the height of the mating season, also known as the rut, is now, about the middle of November and the issue should resolve itself of the more pressing deer concerns by the end of the month.

More information about deer management and hunting in Colts Neck is available from Robert Mahoney, committee chairman, ColtsNeckWildlifeCommittee@gmail.com.

Photograph by Associated Press