Catalina Island’s mule deer have long captivated both locals and visitors. For nearly a century, these ungulates have wandered the island’s shorelines and forests, growing so accustomed to human presence that it is routine to see them strolling through downtown Avalon.
That familiar scene is set to fade, however, after a court ruling this week cleared the way for the island’s conservancy to cull nearly the entire herd of roughly 2,000 deer.
The nonprofit that manages 88 percent of the island off the Southern California coast has pursued the removal of the non‑native deer for years. Statewide experts have backed the Catalina Island Conservancy’s plan, noting that the deer’s browsing on a native shrub has enabled an invasive grass to proliferate—a grass that ignites more readily and spreads fire more rapidly.
The prospect of culling such a large number of deer has ignited fierce, emotionally charged opposition, forging an unlikely alliance of animal‑rights advocates and hunters who have challenged the plan in court. An online petition opposing the move has gathered more than 32,000 signatures.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, a vocal critic of the deer cull, urged Governor Gavin Newsom to intervene earlier this week. Her request went unheeded, and on Tuesday a county judge provisionally denied a preliminary injunction sought by opponents.
The conservancy will now proceed with a five‑year strategy to eradicate the island’s deer population, communications director Pepe Barton said, with roughly 200 animals slated to be shot with rifles over the next two months. Officially called Santa Catalina Island, it is the final Channel Islands National Park unit to eliminate non‑native deer.
Barton described the decision as “never our first choice.”
“We recognize the gravity of this situation and the responsibility it entails,” Barton said. “It is a noble sacrifice for the deer that did not choose this fate. Yet it is a necessary step to safeguard the island, its endemic flora and fauna, and the community whose livelihoods depend on Catalina.”
Mule deer were originally brought to Catalina a century ago for sport hunting. What started as a handful of animals rapidly expanded to several thousand, and aside from modest declines during drought periods, the herd has remained robust.
The deer developed a taste for the island’s native shrubs, creating a distinctive ecological challenge, according to Anna L. Jacobsen, a professor of plant biology at California State University, Bakersfield, who investigated the deer‑vegetation dynamics following the island’s last significant fires in 2006 and 2007.
Jacobsen noted that when non‑native deer consume shrubs already stressed by climate change, the native plants cannot regenerate quickly enough and risk local extinction. In their place, invasive grasses take hold, which ignite and spread fire more rapidly than native species.
In Southern California, where wildfire seasons have grown increasingly perilous, prevention efforts “have shifted from fuel reduction to focusing on ignitions,” said Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist who advises state and local agencies.
Alarmed by the cascading loss of native vegetation and the rising frequency of wildfires across the state, scientists advocated for deer‑population control measures.
The conservancy evaluated contraceptive and sterilization methods, but Barton noted that such approaches were impractical for a herd of this size. Fencing was considered, yet Barton said it “simply would not receive approval.” Four decades of routine hunting seasons have proven insufficient to curb the population, and introducing new predators would pose additional risks to native wildlife and residents.
Consequently, total removal became the remaining option. The conservancy submitted a restoration‑management permit to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which approved the plan in January.
A small group of deer near the town of Avalon will be sterilized, while all remaining animals will be culled. Residents will be permitted one final hunting season from late October through mid‑December this year.
The harvested meat will be supplied to the California Condor Recovery Program or local tribal groups, and Barton indicated that carcasses near trails or roads will be cleared, with only those in steep, hazardous areas left to decompose naturally. Visitors and hikers are unlikely to encounter remains on a regular basis.
The debate over Catalina’s deer has nonetheless produced a nuanced scenario where “people feel a strong attachment to the animals,” making it challenging to convey the scientific rationale, Moritz observed. “The reality is that you cannot realistically restrict deer to specific grazing zones… From a scientific, ecological, and fire‑management standpoint, removal is the most effective approach.”
