LA supervisors oppose plan to eradicate Catalina deer by shooting them from helicopters

LOS ANGELES — Last fall, the Catalina Island Conservancy labeled its plan to eliminate 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, decrying the proposal in an opposition letter as "inhumane and drastic."

Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Santa Catalina Island, drafted the response — saying she was prompted by "an intense public outcry" that sprung up after the aerial sharpshooting proposal became public.

The nonnative mule deer population on the island can range between 500 and 1,800, according to the conservancy. The deer have destroyed natural habitat — including native vegetation found only on the island — and exacerbated the risk of soil erosion in grazed-over areas.

As this is happening, the deer are starving and dying of thirst themselves.

"The island and the deer are both fighting for survival and neither one is winning," Whitney Latorre, the conservancy's chief executive, said in an interview with The Times last fall. "Unless we address the deer issue, the island will become more and more vulnerable to the devastating consequences brought on by rising temperatures and drought."

Hahn, however, called for the conservancy to reconsider other options it previously studied and rejected. The conservancy manages nearly 90% of the island.

A Hahn spokesperson said the supervisor did not have a specific preference as to an alternative, but asked the group to reconsider sterilization, relocation or extending the hunting season.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to send a letter expressing its opposition to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The agency has the authority to approve or deny a permit application initially filed by the conservancy in August 2023 to remove the deer.

An agency spokesperson confirmed that the permit, if approved, would allow the conservancy to "remove non-native, invasive, or detrimental wildlife to improve or restore ecosystem or habitat conditions."

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