ANIMAL PROTECTION LEAGUE OF NEW JERSEY
Promoting Respect | Ending Abuse
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Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In our society it is perfectly legal to kill animals as a means to address a problem - real or perceived. This is the legalized and institutionalized abuse and killing of animals.\n\nHence, the default method of dealing with conflicts between humans and animals has been lethal ones. Whether it’s hunting deer, rounding up feral cats or trapping beavers, many municipalities and businesses choose the deadly path. \n\nReasons are many and varied. To name a few:\nCustom – it’s what they’ve always done and no one questions it\nPressure from outside interests – bowhunters for example, lobby to kill deer in a town that has never had hunting\nFinances – mistakenly, as in the case of feral cats, many officials think killing is less expensive\nFalse impression of its efficacy – nature abhors a vacuum; animals move in to fill the space (feral cats) or animals respond to a decrease in their numbers by increased fertility (deer)
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Community Cat Advocacy
APLNJ encourages and assists with the implementation of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the effective, cost-effective and humane method of managing community cat numbers, protecting public health and reducing impact on wildlife. We provide technical assistance to municipalities, businesses, and residents, and advocate on behalf of community cats and their caregivers.
Using the TNR method, all the cats in a colony are trapped, altered and vaccinated. Feral cats are then returned to their territory where caregivers provide them with lifelong food, water, shelter and veterinary care. Young kittens who can still be socialized, as well as friendly adults, are placed in foster care and eventually adopted out to good homes.
TNR is a movement that is growing by leaps and bounds as residents and local governments see its potential. It is on a trajectory to become the predominant method of community cat population control.
Wildlife Advocacy
APLNJ's wildlife advocacy program seeks to represent the 99.6% of New Jersey’s population that do not hunt, of which a large majority support nonlethal wildlife management and peaceful solutions to human/wildlife issues in New Jersey.
According to the US Census Bureau, the population estimate for New Jersey in 2013 was 8,864,590. In that same year, according to figures provided by New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife (DFW), there were 37,232 hunters in NJ. This translates to 0.4% of the population that hunts and 99.6% of the population of New Jersey that does not hunt.
It’s mainstream to be pro-wildlife, so it’s no coincidence that most people do not hunt. Many consider hunting a violent, dangerous and cruel activity. It destroys wildlife families, orphans young animals, and wounded animals are left to die slow and painful deaths. It causes friction for land owners and town managers. Hunting causes an increase in vehicle collisions and nationwide, more than 200 people die in hunting-related accidents each year, including innocent bystanders and children.
Even though the non-hunting public outnumbers the people who hunt, all wildlife decisions are made for and by hunters, a special interest minority. The 99.6% of the public that does not hunt has no representation at the state level. APLNJ knows that we can remedy this with the support of the non-hunting majority.
Compassionate Eating
For our compassionate eating program, it is APLNJ's mission to:
-- Plant seeds of compassion for animals traditionally raised for human consumption
-- Promote the health, humane, environmental and economic benefits of plant-based eating
-- Offer support and guidance to make the transition from a meat-based diet to a plant-based one by providing dietary guidelines, nutritional information, meal planning and delicious plant-based recipes
Bear Education And Resource (BEAR)
Through public outreach, advertising, legislation and activism we seek to protect black bears and their habitat and put and end to black bear hunting in New Jersey.
Bear Smart NJ
Bear Smart New Jersey is a public service educational program of Animal Protection League of New Jersey which serves to educate residents about bears, reduce unwarranted fears and increase tolerance of our bear neighbors.
Both our protection and education objectives foster a peaceful coexistence and replaces fear with respect and understanding.
Ethical Science
APLNJ aims to expose the fallacy of animal experiments, promote non-animal research methodologies, and educate consumers on how they can help end an ancient, outmoded practice that harms both animals and people.
Where we work
External reviews
Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
APLNJ is dedicated to creating a society where humans live in harmony with other animals by compassionately looking not only at their impact on our world, but also, understanding our impact on theirs.\n\nWe aim to build a society where conflicts with animals are dealt with in a nonviolent manner. All too often the default is killing. Working with the public, policy makers and government officials we advocate for lifestyle changes, programs, policies and laws that promote peaceful coexistence with animals. \n\nFor example:\n- Enactment of town ordinances supporting the use of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) to address feral cat concerns, making TNR, not rounding up and killing, the method of choice for handling conflicts with community cats\n- The use of humane deterrent solutions when seeking conflict resolutions with Canada geese. This is an integrated approach, using ecological landscaping, devices and technology instead of round-ups and gassing (currently the USDA’s method of choice).\n- Educating the public and New Jersey lawmakers on the ever-present issue of white-tailed deer. Educating the public so deer will have local advocates and working with lawmakers to transform the current climate of deer hunts as a means to solve “problems.”\n\nWhile we have a laser focus on New Jersey, our work is such that it can be replicated anywhere and we are often contacted by individuals or other organizations in other states to provide advice and guidance.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
As with many things, education is key. By educating the public on the ways to co-exist with animals, we encourage them to be an advocate for such animals in their community. APLNJ attends numerous outreach fairs and festivals every year, seizing this opportunity to educate the New Jersey public on a variety of issues and encouraging them to be advocates for animals in their town.\n\nThrough our work with town officials, we educate them that lethal means of dealing with conflicts with animals, which at first blush may appear to work, are not a long-term solution.\n\nBy working with businesses seeking conflict resolutions with animals, we show how nonlethal is not only the humane solution but also the most effective.\n\nWe use social media, press releases, print and online advertising, billboards and aerial advertising to promote our campaigns.\n\nBy forging relationships with New Jersey legislators, we create animal allies in the Senate and Assembly.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
APLNJ has been advocating for animals in New Jersey since 1983 and as such our executive director and staff (many of whom have been with the organization for decades) have vast experience and expertise on ways to live peacefully with animals and the means to address concerns in a humane and nonlethal manner.\n\nAs a grassroots organization we get down on the ground and work with residents, local officials and business people, guiding them through the morass of propaganda, misinformation and outright lies used by those with a vested interest (for profit or pleasure) in seeing animals killed.\n\nBeing known throughout New Jersey, and the only such organization with “boots on the ground,” we are contacted by members of the public who have seen our work or who by word of mouth have learned of our work.\n\nOur members and supporters are our eyes and ears in their own towns. Through our network of volunteers, we can reach the public and generate widespread public awareness of animal protection issues, resulting in personal changes that further drive policy changes. We lobby our state legislators (following federal guidelines on financial expense limits) for the passage of animal protection legislation - yet another way to create a humane New Jersey.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
APLNJ was instrumental in helping with the passage of the landmark law banning leghold trap in 1984, which saved over 10 million animals from this cruel device. APLNJ is working to introduce legislation that eliminates all but humane box traps.\n\nOn January 5, 2006, our work led to the enactment of groundbreaking legislation into law in New Jersey, granting students the right to refuse to harm animals in the classroom.\n\nThree governors in New Jersey stopped eight bear hunts. On October 5, 2020, Governor Murphy announced he would stop bear hunting in 2021. APLNJ offered to help Governor Murphy’s administration adopt a new policy that does not include a bear hunt. We host Bear Smart presentations to the public, which reduces complaints and incidents. We are working to create a Bear Smart society, where people can co-exist with bears and learn simple measures to keep bears away from unnatural food sources. \n\nSeveral fur stores closed their doors and many designers have stopped using fur. Flemington Furs, the largest furrier on the East Coast, closed its flagship store in early 2019. APLNJ works with local activist organizations to educate the public with billboards during the “fur” season.\n \nWe were instrumental in achieving bans on traveling circuses in counties and towns in New Jersey: Bergen, Cumberland, Passaic and Hudson counties as well as the city of Vineland, Jersey City, and Clifton. Ultimately we worked on statewide legislation which passed in mid-2019 resulting in a ban on travelling circuses using exotic animals throughout the state. \n\nOur TNR program led to many towns adopting TNR ordinances. We will continue to work with towns to introduce ordinances and strengthen TNR support throughout the state.\n\nWorking with the Greenwood Lake Commission led to stopping two Canada Geese roundups. APLNJ is currently working with the Greenwood Lake Commission to adopt a pilot program for habitat modification, which is the number one solution in preventing issues with geese.\n\nAPLNJ is working with residents throughout New Jersey who want to stop or prevent deer hunting to take hold in their communities. Our educational materials and research shows that hunting is ineffective at reducing car collisions, Lyme disease (no correlation), or reducing the deer population. We shall continue to provide experts, white papers, and other educational materials based on 21st century methods and innovative technologies.
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Operations
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ANIMAL PROTECTION LEAGUE OF NEW JERSEY
Board of directorsas of 11/27/2023
Ms. Anne Crimaudo
Animal Protection League of New Jersey
Term: 1983 - 2025
Anne Crimaudo
Linda Niedweske
Julie O'Connor
Angi Metler
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