By Anne Crimaudo and Angi Metler

At 5:15am, on the morning of December 19, 1996, six NJARA members locked themselves together in the presence of two cop cars to block the main entrance to Lewis Morris County Park where a hunt was scheduled to take place. Hunters were denied access to the killing fields by the activists who were linked arm-to-arm with steel pipes. It took the police and sheriff's officers over four hours to access the situation, cut the steel pipes, remove and arrest all of the activists. The six, ranging in age from 19 to 58, Laura Bourke, Anne Crimaudo, Amy Halbohm, Marilyn Johnson, Angi Metler and Mike McGrath were charged with hunter harassment, defiant trespass, disorderly conduct, and obstructing a public passage.

The hunt was virtually stopped for most of the day. The police reported to the press late on the afternoon of the blockade that no deer were killed. However, the next day they changed their story claiming that ten deer had been killed, thus implying that actions of this type are ineffective. We know better. All the activists have plead NOT GUILTY and are awaiting trial.

This action was the culmination of a campaign that included two 72-hour vigils at the park entrance, fasting throughout and actions inside and around the park. Thanks to Jerry and Shawn from ADL-Connecticut for ALL of their help and support. Thanks also go to the NJARA activists and local residents who braved rain, high winds, freezing cold, and police harassment to make sure that this crime, the slaughter of tame deer received unprecedented media coverage.