THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, January 27th 2008, 4:00 AM
WEST ORANGE, N.J. - Sharpshooters will take to the trees this week in northern New Jersey's South Mountain Reservation to deal with a problem that has become the scourge of many suburban communities: too many deer.
Proponents of the 10-day hunt say the number of white-tailed deer must be reduced because they're destroying the vegetation, becoming a hazard for motorists and spread Lyme disease carried by deer ticks.
"What we're doing on Tuesday is not something that I want to do. It is something that we have to do," said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo. The state Department of Environmental Protection and leaders of the four municipalities around the reservation have signed off on the hunt.But animal rights activists have criticized it, and some residents worry the shooting will be too close to homes and businesses. The hunt in the 2,000- acre reservation, a picturesque area of woodlands, streams and trails, with views of New York City, will continue every Tuesday and Thursday through Feb. 28.
