Last fall, the Catalina Island Conservancy called its plan to eradicate the island’s invasive mule deer population, by employing helicopter-bound hunters armed with high-powered rifles, “bold and ambitious.”
But the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors chose other descriptors, condemning the proposal. in an opposition letter As “inhumane and harsh”.
Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Santa Catalina Island, drafted the response – she said she was prompted by the “intense public outcry” that emerged after the Hawaii sharpshooting proposal was made public.
The non-native mule deer population on the island may number between 500 and 1,800, According to Protection. Deer have destroyed natural habitat – including native vegetation found only on the island – and grazing areas have increased the risk of soil erosion.
When this happens the deer themselves are dying of hunger and thirst.
“Both the islands and the deer are fighting for survival and no one is winning,” Whitney Latorre, the conservancy’s chief executive officer, said in an interview with The Times last fall. “Unless we solve the deer problem, the island will become even more vulnerable to the devastating consequences of rising temperatures and drought.”
However, Hahn called on the Conservancy to reconsider other options it had previously studied and rejected. The Conservancy manages about 90% of the island.
A spokesman for Hahn said the supervisor had no particular preference as to an alternative, but asked the group to reconsider sterilization, relocation or extending the hunting season.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to send a letter to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife expressing its opposition. The agency has the authority to approve or deny a permit application initially filed by the Conservancy in August 2023 to remove the deer.
A spokesperson for the agency confirmed that the permit, if approved, would allow the conservancy to “remove non-native, invasive, or harmful wildlife to improve or restore ecosystem or habitat conditions.”
The review process typically takes 100 days, according to Fish and Wildlife spokesman Tim Daly. However, Daly said the department has not ruled on the application because it is waiting for the Conservancy to file additional requested paperwork.
The Conservancy did not return calls for comment.
The Conservancy previously said it planned to hire sharpshooters from Connecticut-based nonprofit White Buffalo Inc. The group will use AR-15-style rifles with non-lead bullets to avoid poisoning the natural scavengers.
Some bodies will remain where they fell, while those at Avalon and along the road will be removed.
Mule deer were introduced to the island in the 1930s as a game species for hunting, according to stereotypes,
The Conservancy reviewed six possible plans to remove the deer, including fencing, aerial sharpshooting, recreational hunting, introduction of natural predators, rehabilitation and sterilization, and the use of chemical contraceptives.
Each option was evaluated on seven values, including minimizing impact on the ecology and deer suffering, safety of the team, and how quickly it could be accomplished.
Grades ranged from poor to excellent. Aerial sharpshooting was the only option that earned at least a “good” grade on seven values, while fencing and hunting earned four “fair” designations or higher.
Aerial sharpshooting was listed as the top choice because, according to the conservancy, it is “efficient” at eliminating large numbers of deer in a short period of time.
The main drawbacks included the loud sounds of gunfire, which could disturb wildlife and local residents.
In comparison, fencing was described as expensive and challenging given the island’s topography, while recreational hunting was generally ineffective on its own, Conservation found.
However, opposition to aerial hunting has increased in the past few months.
The advocacy group Coalition to Save Catalina Island Deer has collected more than 18,000 signatures on a petition since September 23 Opposition to the concept.
The group said there was “no meaningful public process” in discussing the proposal and described the aerial firing as an “inhumane tactic”. Both the coalition and Hahn have said that the sharpshooting method is extreme.
conservatism Hosted a community forum On January 31, after the petition was published, several conservation issues were discussed, including deer populations.
However, Bernd Blossey, a professor of natural resources and environment at Cornell University, said the idea is not new.
Blossey, who is also chair of the university’s deer management program, pointed to aerial shooting efforts to eliminate feral goats. Galapagos Islands and in new zealand At the beginning of this century.
“When people ask if something is normal, I respond, ‘How do you define normal?'” Blossey said. “In the case of Catalina, which is an island like the Galapagos and New Zealand, it is standard operating procedure to use helicopters or planes to kill unwanted animals.”
Blossey also believes that calls to relocate animals, as some conservationists want, could be more harmful than helpful.
“Capture is painful, transport is painful, and both have poor success rates,” he said. “They are then taken to areas they don’t know about and that’s not a good thing.”
Blossey also said he did not want to “sugarcoat” the aerial shooting, as he said the death toll would be high, especially earlier in the process.
“You might get a few hundred the first week because the deer aren’t used to the tactics and won’t have any defense,” he said.
If approved, hunts will begin in the fall.
