NJ Senator Requests AG Address Lacey Raccoon Slaying

PISCATAWAY, NJ — A New Jersey state senator wrote to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal requesting he examine last year's Lacey raccoon slaying.

A video emerged in December of a teenage boy beating a raccoon — caught in a leg trap — to death while another teenage boy egged him on. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office has refused to publicly say whether the teens were prosecuted. County prosecutors have the power to enforce animal cruelty laws in New Jersey.

"It is my understanding that the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, instead of investigating and prosecuting, referred this matter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Division of Fish & Wildlife," Senator Bob Smith wrote to Grewal on Sept. 9. "This clearly was conduct that went beyond lawful permitted activity and must be investigated and prosecuted by the county and NJDEP should revoke this permit."

Smith, who represents the Middlesex County area, chairs the New Jersey Senate's Environment and Energy Committee, through which senate trapping bills go.

One such bill is Senator Vin Gopal's proposal raise New Jersey's minimum trapping age from 12 to 18. Gopal introduced the bill March 15, and it hasn't left the committee.

Read Smith's letter below:

Related articles:

• Lacey Raccoon Slaying Investigation Raises Concerns From Experts
• The Lacey Raccoon Slaying And The Politics Of Trapping

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Lacey Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.