Shooters in Helicopters Hired to Slaughter California Mule Deer on Catalina Island

The Catalina Island Conservancy has announced plans to slaughter all California mule deer (about 1000) on the island, primarily by sharpshooters in helicopters, pending permit approval from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), according to the Coalition Against the Slaughter of Catalina Deer. The deer have been an integral part of the 48,000-acre island’s culture, history, and economy for nearly one hundred years. 

More than half of the island’s 3,700 registered voters publicly oppose the brutal tactics. They are among the 11,994 (and counting) signatories of the Change.org “Stop the Slaughter of Mule Deer on Catalina Island” petition. 

 Among the strong concerns and facts voiced by Coalition members are “the science does not support eradication,” there has been “no meaningful, formal process of public discourse,” the “unnecessarily brutal and extreme eradication methods” it aims to use; and “the permit could give the Conservancy the unilateral right to remove any other perceived threat to grasses and plants,” as well as possibly empower it to eliminate the island’s famed bison, which are central to the island’s economy. 

Petitioners also raise concerns that the Conservancy is in legal violation of the Open Space Easement, held by the County of Los Angeles, under which it stewards its land and which provides it an exemption against paying taxes on the land. 

The Conservancy has previously made at least two failed attempts for a Depredation Permit from the CDFW to eradicate the island’s deer, in 2012 and 2016. Both were rejected for lack of scientific evidence to support their ecological impact claims and for lack of the required public transparency and input. The new request for a Scientific Collecting Permit aims to circumvent the rigorous process required by the CDFW to obtain a Depredation Permit, the Coalition claims. 

Despite the Conservancy’s claim to the contrary, “The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) does not support the actions that the Conservancy is proposing,” according to Dianne Stone, vice president of the Catalina Island Humane Society (CIHS), referring to a recent conversation she had with Jenny Berg, California state director for the HSUS. Stone added, “The CIHS strongly opposes the decision to kill all the deer. We believe it lacks consideration for both the science and ethics of the situation and is entirely unnecessary.” 

Robert Kröger, a Ph.D. restoration ecologist and executive director of Blood Origins, has analyzed publicly available scientific studies from Catalina Island to justify the eradication of its deer. He concludes, “The science does not support that to protect native plants and meet recovery objectives, the number of deer — a species that have social and recreational values on the island — should be zero.”  

In 1981, when the California Board of Equalization sued it for not providing sufficient recreational access to its lands and in danger of losing its tax-exempt status, the Conservancy lauded its hunting program. It stated in court documents that “Hunting is considered the most effective means of wildlife management.”  

“Hunting could continue to be a successful part of the Conservancy’s management strategy if they would follow the process proposed by the CDFW to increase the number of deer individual hunters can take, increase the number of qualified outfitters from one, and allow qualified islanders to run hunts, among several possible solutions,” says Charles Whitwam, founding director, HOWL for Wildlife. 

The Coalition Against the Slaughter of Catalina Deer is a diverse, grass-roots group of concerned citizens spanning island residents, business owners, animal lovers, hunters, attorneys, visitors to the island, and others who oppose the brutal eradication of California mule deer on Catalina Island and support humane management by responsible hunting.