Deer Feeding At Sandy Hook Has Gotten Out Of Control, Park Says

SANDY HOOK, NJ — People leaning out their car windows and feeding deer doughnuts. People deliberately leaving bales of hay by the side of Hartshorne Drive, thinking it will help Sandy Hook's deer population make it through the winter.

All of this and more has been happening at Sandy Hook lately and the park rangers who run the park have a message: Stop feeding the deer at Sandy Hook!

"People feeding deer has become a huge problem," said Pete McCarthy, coordinator of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Park. "We would see bits and pieces of this happening over the years, however this year it's really become an intense problem."

Two things have happened at Sandy Hook in the past 12 months, he said: First, the number of visitors to the park dramatically increased during COVID. Secondly, the deer population has skyrocketed.

More humans and more animals doesn't always make for a positive mix, he said.

"I would say we've seen a 15 percent visitation increase to Sandy Hook and that's definitely pandemic-driven," said McCarthy. "And on a conservative estimate, I would say there are now well over 100 deer in the park. With no natural predators, that population will only continue to grow. We're getting close to having to do a study to determine how to deal with the deer population in the park."

In 2016 Patch reported on this coyote running wild through Sandy Hook, but coyotes haven't been seen there in recent years. Deer have few other natural predators.

Park visitors often fret the deer are hungry, particularly in cold, lean winter months. But McCarthy wants to assure the public that is not the case.

"Deer are there to forage through what we have in the park," he said. "If you feed them and change their diet, you are exposing them to new microorganisms and new bacteria that can make them sick. People are saying we don't want the deer to starve. The deer will not starve; they know how to forage."

A bigger issue is the growing problem of deer-vs.-car accidents, which have been steadily increasing in the park, he said.

"We've had 10 car accidents involving deer in the past 12 months and that's not counting ones that were not reported," he said. "They usually happen in the evening or at dusk. We want people to be really vigilant driving in and out of the park."

Instead of avoiding deer, park visitors have actually been seeking them out, or luring them to cars.

People have been slowing down their cars and feeding deer right out of their car windows, or some people go into the wooded areas of Sandy Hook with cracked corn, looking for deer,he said.

"We've been watching the deer and they've become numb to the presence of humans and vehicles," said McCarthy. "We don't want them to associate cars with food. You are making them vulnerable by losing their fear of cars and people. It's getting very dangerous."

Sandy Hook is owned by the federal government and maintained by the National Park Service. McCarthy reminds the public that feeding wildlife in a national park is simply illegal, and you will get fined if you are caught doing it.

Related: Coyote Spotted at Sandy Hook National Park (Jan. 8, 2016)

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