HALT is a grass-roots group, formed to oppose the lethal action of Millburn-Short Hills Township against the native deer population, and to foster and promote the use of such humane alternatives as repellants, reflectors, fencing, speed limit enforcement and realistic assessment of the supposed problem.

We have instituted legal actions against Millburn-Short Hills Township and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife in attempts to stop the hiring of “professional” deer kills in the Township under  F&W’s Community Based Deer Management Program. 

As time has passed, we have realized that ours is a state-wide issue, and that the attitudes which nurtured the suburban deer-kills are pervasive.   We need to address the general anti-animal orientation in New Jersey by educating the public and the legislature.  We seek the reorganization of the Division from its present pro-hunting-only policies and we will strive for a fairer representation of New Jersey citizens in that body.

We seek kindness and compassion for all animals.  

Benefactor  Peter Blanchard's appeal to Millburn Township January 15, 2001 Millburn Township Committee 375 Millburn Avenue Millburn, NJ 07041 Dear Millburn Township Committee:      I am writing this letter to protest the ongoing deer hunting activity in Old Short Hills Park.  My father, Peter P. Blanchard, Jr., donated the land where the hunt is taking place to Millburn Township as a park.  I grew up on the property and am very familiar both with the land and with the deer situation.  While I recognize the importance of reducing deer populations, I believe that there are humane alternatives that can be used, even if they are more expensive and less efficient.       Regardless of the hunters'  individual skill, training and degree of caution, the regular placement of sharpshooters at several locations on park property has a number of negative consequences.  The hunt, particularly given its long duration, undercuts the value of the park and the experience of the park as an open space for passive recreation.  The hunt, the creation of a "fire zone", is dangerous to humans and their pets and is not appropriate to a park in a suburban setting.  Neighbors and local residents are rightly fearful about being out and about on private lands adjacent to the hunting areas.      The present police safety measures cannot provide adequate warning for people entering the park at locations other than at road access points.  Last month, my wife and I, in the company of a corgi, unknowingly passed close to the hunters, having entered the Township Park from my father's property.  It was only after traversing the great field and seeing the squad car stationed near Old Short Hills Road that we realized that this was a hunting day and that we had been much too close for comfort.  An hour or so later, the hunters' shots rang out at the location where we had walked.  Access to the hunting areas is easy for hikers in South Mountain Reservation and, in my view,  an accident could happen.  Furthermore, hunting activities are not necessarily restricted by a regular schedule.  A walk in the woods could well coincide with a hunt day.  Important safety issues underlie the prohibition of the hunt in the Reservation.  For these same issues, my father and I have not allowed the hunt to take place on his 22-acre property, contiguous with the Reservation and Old Short Hills Park.     In summary, the Old Short Hills Park deer hunt is neither humane nor necessary.  Inroads into the deer population have been made so far, but the hunt seems bent on reducing the herd to a point where future culling will not be required for several years.  I would argue that it is now time to cease the hunt, to explore humane alternatives for future deer management, and to allow Old Short Hills Park to be truly a park again, in the spirit of its donation.
Other Subsidiaries:
	Humane Alternatives (HALT)
	God's Creatures Ministry
	Mutts-N-More Rescue
	Save Our Strays, Inc.
	New Beginnings Pet Rescue
	All About Them, Giant Breed Rescue, Rehabilitation & Sanctuary
	Hope for Animals
	Why not ME? Animal Rescue
	Hunterdon Animal Rescue Team