BY PAT SUMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The shooter in the May 13 killing in Princeton of two beavers is known. He reportedly told a resident he was going to get rid of them. Then he did – after dark, in a town park, with a .22 rifle.

Mark Johnson, the shooter, is the animal control officer in Princeton borough and Princeton township, which share the health dept. services that include animal control.

Robert Bruschi, Princeton borough administrator, told the Princeton Packet (May 20) Johnson viewed [the beavers] as “a nuisance.”

On his way to shoot them, Johnson had told the same resident that it wasn’t his idea, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He said the Division of Fish and Wildlife (under the state DEP) had ordered the killings.

However, Lawrence Hajna, a DFW rep, indicated there was no permit issued – they are legally required — for trapping the beavers or any beaver activity with his division.

According to the state’s game code, it’s illegal to shoot beavers, a protected species in New Jersey. “You can’t shoot a beaver,” Hajna told the Packet reporter for the same story.

That Packet story drew outranged comments from Princeton area readers. Many of the 13 comments shared common threads of opinion:

• This is not the first time Officer Johnson has acted unilaterally. He has lied and blamed others for his actions before. He is protected by the administration.
• This issue is rife with cover-ups and buck passing.
• Shooting beavers is illegal.
• There are likely to be beaver kits in the den, who, without their parents may now be starving.

Once the beaver brouhaha broke out, obfuscation set in. One official after another declined to say much, claiming that “investigations were underway.” Health officer David Henry said in the first Packet story that the beavers weren’t sick or aggressive before mentioning the investigation.

Quoted as saying he was treating it as “a personnel matter,” Administrator Bruschi said an investigation was underway. Starting Monday, May 23, he has not returned phone queries from this reporter.

Reached by phone, Princeton township mayor Chad Goerner said his administrator would be speaking with his counterpart in the borough (where the beavers where killed). He reserved comment until after any investigation was completed.

Meanwhile, Johnson, the animal control officer and shooter, was reported to be on vacation the week of May 16-20.