Essex County Cancels 2022 Deer Cull Due To Coronavirus

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County is canceling its annual deer cull for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Thursday.

According to Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr.:

“For the second consecutive year, we have decided to cancel our annual Deer Management Program because of the coronavirus pandemic. We are focusing our attention on staffing our vaccination and testing sites, bringing our mobile outreach program to schools, houses of worship and community centers and making sure our residents have access to programs that keep them safe, healthy and protected.”

Over the past decade, thousands of animals have been killed during the county's annual deer management program, which aims to "revitalize the forest ecology" by reducing the number of deer.

The culls have been held in county-run reservations, including South Mountain Reservation in Maplewood, Millburn and West Orange, and Hilltop Reservation in Cedar Grove, North Caldwell and Verona.

• See related article: Humans vs. Deer In Northeast Jersey (State Has A 'Zero Density' Population Goal)

County officials released COVID-19 cumulative case and death totals for each municipality on Jan. 6, which can be seen below.

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