A case about NJ Fish & Wildlife

November 14th, 2009 |

I was working with NJ State SPCA as a Law Enforcement Officer in 1992 two Freehold Twp police officers were dispatched to a deer that was hit on the road on t. 537 in Freehold Twp on a Bell Lab property. It was about a quarter of a mile from the road hit by a delivery truck about 4 am. The deer had a broken back from the accident. The police officers took out a bolt cutter and they beat the deer to death. I was called in on the case and prosecuted the police officers on needlessly beating and torturing an animal. I was called by my office to call NJ Fish & Game about the incident. I spoke to a Marty McQue he said that they would appreciate it if I dropped the charges. I refused to drop the charges, I did not work for NJ Fish, Game and Wildlife, I worked for the State SPCA and that these two officers were guilty and I was going to prosecute them. That was the last I heard about it.

About two years later in 1993 I applied to NJ Fish, Game & Wildlife for my rehabilitator’s permit I sent them the application, and then did not receive any notice from them. In March of 1993 I phoned them to ask them what my status was, NJ F&G said that they never received my application, they did not know who I was, nor ever heard of me before. I asked them to send me the application again, they did. I filled it out and sent it back July 1994. I received a packet with all the rules and regulations, and a list of wildlife rehabilitators in the State, and they sent me my $7.00 check back with an explanation that they did not charge for the license, it is free. The check I sent them was by mistake, it was only needed if holding a captive pet, not wildlife rehabilitation. In August of 1994 two NJ Conservation Officers came to my house one was named Lisa Trifelli, they asked if I was William Sleight, and I said I was. The officers said that they were here about raccoons. At the time I had 20 raccoons. I thought that they were bringing me more raccoons, when I found out that they were investigating me, I told them that I had all of the necessary paperwork that I needed. They asked for the permit, and I told them that they had not sent it to me yet, then I showed them the back of the property, the cages and animals, and they responded it was ok. They said they were going to check their records for my information, and realized that they had spelled my name wrong. They spelled it Slate I’m sleight, I explained if they looked they would see that that the paperwork was sent to them, and I had received paperwork from the State. I told them in the paperwork I received, I was sent a directory, and they stated that I must be ok because that directory only gets sent to licensed rehabilitators in case I need to network with them. I was also told police departments may get the directory as a list in case they need to refer to a wildlife rehabilitator, but it is not for the open public.

To be continued

Bookmark This!