To the editor:
Open letter to River Vale Mayor Glen Jasionowski and the Township Council.
Every morning I wake up and walk my two dogs across this town I call home. Every single day. For the last 18 years. Never have I been moved by an issue to address the council as this one. Not the lack of sidewalks, the poor road conditions, the lack of foresight of the zoning and planning committees.
Every day I am confronted by another horrific event in this country. The violence is overwhelming. Our schools have lock-down drills and messages of hate (in a high school that I once attended).
The one solace I find comfort in is nature. My walks in a beautiful, quiet suburban town. My dogs and I walk pass squirrels, chipmunks, numerous birds, the occasional fox or raccoon, and yes, the deer. When we pass the deer, my dogs and I look at them, they look at us with their soulful gaze. I am at peace and marvel at the beauty of our world and forget the horrors that lie beyond our town.
What you as a group are proposing to do is an unimaginable horror. Killing in any form is intolerable in our community. The reasons you cite to the newspaper and at meetings do not justify the senseless slaughter of these peaceful animals. Your number one reason is safety and auto accidents.
In fact, distracted driving leads to accidents, not the deer. During my peaceful walks, often in the street (see aforementioned lack of sidewalks) I have to jump out of the way of vehicles that come perilously close to me or my dogs. My hand has actually been hit on numerous occasions.
All of your reasons are human ones (not humane), senseless ones, and ones that can be fixed and addressed by viable solutions that do not involve the inhumane and cruel murder of a peaceful member of our community.
Stop the hunt.
