In the Hands of Killers

The New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW) and the Fish & Game Council (FGC) are not what you think they are.

DFW and FGC have complete authority over all wildlife in New Jersey. Their management practices result in the killing of over a million animals annually in our state.

They operate for the sole benefit of their constituents (hunters, fishers, and trappers), who represent less than 0.5% of New Jersey’s population. DFW conserves animals for hunters and trappers to kill, manages habitats by burning and cutting to increase hunt-able animals, and maligns animals and promote negative attitudes toward them to garner support for their lethal management objectives.

To pay the salaries of its employees, DFW is funded in part from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and related stamps and permits.

Can you say conflict of interest?

DFW could be protecting wildlife. Instead, it relies on revenue generated from their slaughter to insure its very existence. Mandated by law to provide “recreational” services to fewer than 0.5% of New Jersey’s population, the DFW acts more like a private hunting club than a state agency.

FGC is archaic and out of touch with the times. The FGC:

  • has total lethal control over New Jersey’s wildlife.
  • is an 11-member board, comprised of 6 hunters, 3 farmers, 1 public member and the chair of the endangered species program.
  • contains not one member that represents the 99.6% of the non-hunting population of New Jersey, yet they decide the fate of all wild animals in NJ
  • votes annually on the Game Code where they determine which animals will be hunted, by what means, in what numbers and when.
  • never approves any meaningful nonlethal wildlife management and focuses on increasing hunting. The State Game Code is a killing manual.