The Township Council Meeting of four and a half hours on Tuesday night was probably the most emotional I have ever witnessed.
Though County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and his team of experts, in an organized and comprehensible fashion, gave their reasons for wanting to continue the deer kill in South Mountain Reservation, it was the animal activists who could not contain their distress. Some might fault the activists for their show of anger and frustration, but it is understandable.
It is difficult to sit silent or listen passively on an issue such as this kill. Indeed, the activists were often in tears as they described the horrors of the kill of last year in the Reservation.
It is difficult to sit silent or listen passively on an issue such as this kill. Indeed, the activists were often in tears as they described the horrors of the kill of last year in the Reservation.
Their tears may not have moved the township council, but neither did the case made by the county executive and his expert team have its desired impact. Although Councilwoman Patty Spango and Councilman Robert Parisi voted to continue the deer kill, Councilwoman Susan McCartney, Councilman Sal Anderton and Council President Renard Barnes voted against the kill.
Those voting for essentially repeated the case made by the CE, that the deer are responsible for defoliating the reservation and must be stopped. The method, men armed with guns and climbing trees to shoot deer feeding at staged feeding spots below, was not an issue for Spango or Parisi. Nor was there much interest or comment on the fact that these deer were not killed on first shot and wandered wounded into streets and yards nearby.
Those voting against were not convinced of the validity of the argument of de-foresting or of the County's diligence in exploring alternatives to the kill. Both Anderton and McCartney spoke with conviction but it was Barnes who expressed his decision most eloquently. His refusal to endorse this kill was based on his observation that the County had offered no real plan for containing deer in the future or for re-planting the Reservation.
It would have been very easy for these three council members to have just voted approval, especially so as the County Executive began his presentation saying that their vote was of no consequence---that he had the right to, and would, pursue the kill regardless of their vote.
But the three members stood firm, and in this listener's eyes, stood tall in their decision. If the kill is to continue, it will not be with their approval.
It was a moral stand, if nothing else, and those committed to the humane treatment of animals as well as those committed to exploring alternative non-violent solutions, are deeply appreciative.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma), perhaps the most noted pillar of moral stands against violence, once said: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated".
The Township of West Orange, in their denial of authorizing the deer kill, took an important step in helping to polish its image and its legacy with the courage and conviction of these three council members.
But this is not the end. Other towns need to join in this effort to stop the kill.
The Maplewood Town Council will be meeting to vote on October 21st - 7 pm - Maplewood Town Hall, 574 Valley Road,Maplewood NJ 07040. We need to be there to encourage them to take the same moral stand.
Those voting against were not convinced of the validity of the argument of de-foresting or of the County's diligence in exploring alternatives to the kill. Both Anderton and McCartney spoke with conviction but it was Barnes who expressed his decision most eloquently. His refusal to endorse this kill was based on his observation that the County had offered no real plan for containing deer in the future or for re-planting the Reservation.
It would have been very easy for these three council members to have just voted approval, especially so as the County Executive began his presentation saying that their vote was of no consequence---that he had the right to, and would, pursue the kill regardless of their vote.
But the three members stood firm, and in this listener's eyes, stood tall in their decision. If the kill is to continue, it will not be with their approval.
It was a moral stand, if nothing else, and those committed to the humane treatment of animals as well as those committed to exploring alternative non-violent solutions, are deeply appreciative.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma), perhaps the most noted pillar of moral stands against violence, once said: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated".
The Township of West Orange, in their denial of authorizing the deer kill, took an important step in helping to polish its image and its legacy with the courage and conviction of these three council members.
But this is not the end. Other towns need to join in this effort to stop the kill.
The Maplewood Town Council will be meeting to vote on October 21st - 7 pm - Maplewood Town Hall, 574 Valley Road,Maplewood NJ 07040. We need to be there to encourage them to take the same moral stand.
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