I have a total of about 14 deer in the Brooklyn Mtn Rd/Yale Trail area when they are all together. Have seen this a couple of times over the years. I regularly have 5-8 deer resting in my back yard at least a few times a week. I love animals, but these deer are out of control, & something needs to be done.

We have about 25 to 30 in our neighborhood and there's someone that we thinks puts food out for them, which should be illegal. The problem with feeding them is that the food put out isn't enough to sustain them, but it keeps them in the neighborhood, destroying all the other vegetation. We had to rip out evergreens that had been in front of our house since the 1950s because of the damage the deer did to them. I used to have beautiful hosta and other flowers and a vegetable garden. I have none of that anymore. They used to leave the rhododendrons alone, but this fall they ate my PJM Rhododendron that they had never touched before. I had also bought a new one to replace one of the evergreens, thinking they would leave it alone, but it's destroyed now too. They haven't touched my really big rhododendron yet, but I think it's only a matter of time before they get to that too. And I love having to watch out for the deer poop, when mowing the lawn. Not. They aren't afraid of people at all either. I'm not a fan of hunting. I wish there was another way to control them.

Do we have a deer problem?? yes!!!, the issue is that if you check the stats the number of registered hunters in NJ is down drastically. It seems a lot of people in NJ feel that hunting is inhumane. Let's live and let live, hunting as a way to provide is a great way to put food on your table.

I believe all state and local open land should be legal to hunt on. Let's welcome the hunters to our open land, it would help the local economy. The butchers, the coffee shops, etc. If other towns would follow suit then maybe we can bring back the hunters. The way it was when my grandfather told stories about driving up to Sussex county to hunt.

Yes - Major problem with over population of Deer in the area - Not only are they a nuisance with running in the street but they destruction of property, plants, trees and bushes - I think deer hunting should be approved so the population is lowered

we do not have a deer problem we have a drug problem. spend tax dollars on treatment not killing deer

YES! Hopatcong is maze of winding and hilly roads with wooded trails through neighborhoods. These act as corridors for deer travel. When you're driving through hills, your lights aren't always illuminating the road ahead, they are casting beams in the sky or straight down. My wife and I have learned where these travel routes are along our ride home and anticipate the deer crossing ahead of us. We've been very fortunate to avoid collisions, but many in town haven't been as lucky.

Lyme disease?

NOOO. What if the arrow goes there a window and it hits and kills someone. What if a child or someone is running on there hands and feet and the hunter thinks its an animal and the hunter kills that person. Hunting in hopatcong is very dangrous and when you or someone gets shot you'll be spending more money on hospital bill then on ur car bill.

Running on their hands and feet?

When I left for work this morning there were 3 deer in my side yard, eating whatever they could find. I walked right by them got in my car. They never ever stopped eating and I was less then 10 feet from them.

A hunter needs so be 150 feet away from any building for bow hunting. Hopatcong can make it even farther if they choose to open a hunt they can also make it so only tree stand hunting is allowed making it so all shots are aimed down.

They should open hunting . State biologist say it's the only affective to control them.

They should open hunting . State biologist say it's the only affective to control them.

It is extremely disappointing to me to see such childish replies here. Do some research!!! Hunters have to pass a test to get there license. They for the most part are safety concious, and would never put someone's life in danger. Don't get me wrong, accidents will happen, however your more likely to get hurt in your car after hitting a dear than getting hit by the arrow aimed at a deer. Hopatcong hosts a large plot of open land away from public roads and homes. I can't wait to hunt in my home town and put food on my familys table.

Bette should have been done a long time ago. Everything in my yard is now dead or dying. We have 14 who visit here regularly eating everything. Thousands of dollars in landscaping down the drain......and a fortune in sprays which don't work

I hope you people crying about this are vegetarians. Otherwise, you're just a hypocrite!

Last night on Fox 5 news, there was a story about a man who was denied parole after serving 2 years FOR!!!! Accidently killing a little girl who was in her Grandparents House(trailer). He had just come down from a blind and shot at a deer, missing the bullet went into the trailer killing the girl(6 years old). He stated he was a experienced hunter. 2 things here. accidents will happen!, so to be blind and say its ok to hunt deer in town is insane. By my house there are kids in the woods all the time, teenagers partying and just hanging out. the other thing is this fellow on the news is complaing that he was denied parole after on 2 years,(he claims he made a deal for 2 years). Would you want a child in this town to accidently get killed and the person only serve 2 years in Prison? This town is overly populated with deer and people, and kids in the woods are allways going to be doing things they should not be doing, but losing your life just for hanging in the woods and to many deer is not good. I am not against hunting but not in a populated town like Hopatcong, Find another way to trap the deer without guns or arrows that can BY ACCIDENT KILL!!!!!!!!!!

THe deer have eaten most of my shrubs, forget about the flowers. My guess is the deer have cost me about $30,000 in landscaping this past year. There are far too many of them. We must consider our health as well as the health of the deer. THey're are far too skinny, not enough food for them to eat. They are eating things they have NEVER eaten before. Help!!!! Barbara L.

We have between 40 and 50 deer lingering all day every day in our yard, street and immediate vicinity. Neighbors feed them regularly. There is not a solution to stopping them from eating all plants; We have tried everything...seriously everything! The Lyme disease rate is skyrocketing in Sussex County. The effects of Lyme are many from learning disabilities in children to loss of mobility over time. I suggest reading up on the disease and getting tested; I know more people in Hopatcong who have it than do not. Years ago seeing one or two deer occasionally was nice however now they are as welcome as rats or roaches. Something needs to be done, Spring is coming and even more babies with it.

We absolutely have a deer problem. I have lived here for 38 years. The last few years the deer have been out of control. It used to be that you would see one every so often. Now they are here every day. I live in Elba point. One of my neighbors contracted Lyme disease. Another neighbor’s dog also contracted the disease and had to be put down. Virtually all of my landscaping that took years to develop is gone. Just look at the deer hit statistics; they more than doubled in one year. I know, because I was number 114. It happened on New Years Eve as we were heading out for dinner. I was traveling south on Lakeside Blvd approaching Brooklyn Mtn Road when a deer leaped out in front of me. I hit it while it was still in the air. Never saw it because it was not on the shoulder when it left the ground. Over $4000 worth of damage. Lees than a week later, there was another deer lying on the side of the road in almost the exact same spot as the one I hit. No, the problem is there has been no culling of the deer herds and this problem will only get worse until the deer get diseased from insufficient food. That is what happened in The Great Swamp preserve in Morris County. What really needs to be done is to sterilize some of the deer so that they do not reproduce so quickly. It is only a matter of time before a Borough citizen is severely injured in an auto accident. Councilman Francis is making a good start, but more will have to be done.

Yes. We have a deer problem. I see herds of them in my yard in the morning and sometimes all day long. I see footprints in the snow in my yard. For years I had a nice vegetable garden and no obvious deer problem, but 3 years ago it started to get eaten. I tried it again the next year and the same thing. I actually saw the deer eating the plants. I stopped planting a vegetable garden hoping the deer would go somewhere else, but they didn't. I still have them in my yard eating the other plants and living under my bushes. I love to watch them. They are really beautiful animals, but they are getting out of control. One night when I was walking my dog, one of them actually leaped out of the bushes and ran right in front of me. I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack. It really scared me.