Catalina Island Conservancy Will Not Pursue Aerial Mule Deer Hunting

Featured image credit: Kiloueka

A few months back, we published a blog with recommendations of things to do on Catalina Island. Hunting wasn’t on our list. But it turns out that mule deer hunting may be in the island’s not-too-distant future. The Catalina Island Conservancy has been struggling with the island’s invasive mule deer population. In a desperate attempt to cull the threat to Catalina’s native flora, the Conservancy developed a detailed proposal requesting aerial mule deer hunting. But littering a popular vacation spot with thousands of deer carcasses went over about as well as you’d expect. Yet, unfortunately for the Catalina Island mule deer, they’re not out of the crosshairs yet. 

Opposition from County Supervisor Janice Hahn

On Wednesday, May 29, the Catalina Island Conservancy announced that it had scuttled plans for aerial mule deer hunting as a method of eradicating the island’s invasive species. The plan elicited a vocal outcry upon its initial announcement. Among its most vehement opponents? Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn who counts Catalina Island under her 4th District. 

“I heard from residents who were terrified at the thought of bullets raining down from helicopters over their beloved island and others who couldn’t stand the thought of the deer carcasses that would be left in their wake,” she clarified. Echoing this line of thinking, a motion approved on April 23 deemed the aerial mule deer hunting solution “inhumane and drastic, and potentially dangerous to the public.” 

Proving that these weren’t isolated opinions, opponents collected over 90,000 signatures decrying the Conservancy’s plan. But it wasn’t until a unanimous vote from the Board of Supervisors opposing the aerial cull that the Conservancy officially announced that they’d abandoned the proposal. 

Why the Conservancy Considered Aerial Mule Deer Hunting

The Catalina Island Conservancy is responsible for managing the island’s natural land; all 48,000 acres of it. In recent years, they’ve presented compelling evidence that Catalina’s mule deer population is inflicting critical damage on the island’s ecosystem. With an estimated nearly 1,800 deer on the island, rare plants are facing extinction to keep them fed. In addition, their grazing is leaving areas more prone to wildfires. 

While the Conservancy easily persuaded the public with their evidence, their solution was a harder sell. This, of course, was the plan to employ sharpshooters to handle the mule deer hunting from a helicopter above the island. The plan further elaborated that hunters would leave the nearly 2,000 deer carcasses to rot, promoting the growth of the island’s flora. 

With the invasive deer out of the way, the Conservancy would then begin a program of planting and seeding to revitalize Catalina Island’s ecosystem. Though the plan may seem barbaric, it garnered letters of support from several environmental organizations. 

Why is There a Catalina Island Mule Deer Population?

But how did an invasive species of deer even make it over to Catalina Island? Well, they had a little help. In the 1930s, in a bid to make Catalina Island a notable hunting destination, mule deer were introduced to the island along with goats, pigs, and the famous Catalina Island bison. Over the decades, the goats and the pigs were completely eliminated. The bison, on the other hand, were sterilized. Only the mule deer continue to be a problem for Catalina’s ecosystem and, by extension, the Catalina Island Conservancy. 

The Fate of Catalina’s Mule Deer

Though aerial mule deer hunting is now off the menu, the deer of Catalina Island still won’t have a happy ending. The Conservancy is already putting forth a combination of solutions to the problem posed by the invasive species. These include sterilization, relocation, and hunting expansion. We can assume from this story that whatever the Conservancy chooses, they’ll need to get the public onboard first.