Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi will only say that skunks are being put in 'the witness protection program.'
View full sizeAvalon, N.J., officials are suspected of taking skunks to other towns.New Jersey environmental regulators think one town may be doing something stinky in its effort to control skunks.
Officials in the shore town of Avalon have been capturing and moving skunks — about 80 of them in the last year.
The state Division of Fish and Wildlife wants to know where the animals are being taken. A spokesman tells The Press of Atlantic City that a permit is needed to move wildlife to an other town because critters could cause problems in the places they are taken.
Two years ago, the town acknowledged releasing about two dozen skunks in nearby Upper Township.
Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi will only say that skunks are being put in “the witness protection program.”