mule deer bucks in Velvet Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Wikimedia Commons
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Counsel Dawyn Harrison has sent a formal letter opposing the Catalina Island Conservancy’s plan to systematically shoot and kill the entire deer population on Catalina Island, calling the plan “a direct threat to human life.”
In the letter to the Catalina Island Conservancy and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or CDFW, the county’s lawyers cited concerns raised by Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone that eliminating the entire deer population would increase wildfire risk on the island and threaten the people who live in the City of Avalon. In his memo, Chief Marrone warned that the removal of these grazers will cause an unmanaged surge in “fine fuels.”
“By ignoring the County Fire Department’s professional assessment, the Conservancy and California Department of Fish and Wildlife are prioritizing plant life over the safety of human residents,” Harrison wrote in the letter. “The current plan lacks community consensus and sacrifices public safety for a narrow ecological vision.”
The letter also raised serious concerns about the use of aerial capture, nighttime shooting, drones, and hunting dogs, arguing the approach is unnecessarily violent, scientifically unsupported, and harmful to public trust.
In January, the CDFW approved a permit for the conservancy for their deer eradication plan. The county has requested that the state review the issued permit and require a revised plan that incorporates sterilization and fire-risk mitigation as core components.
Supervisor Janice Hahn opposes the conservancy’s plan to kill the entire deer population and agrees with experts and island residents who believe there should be a smaller, well-managed deer population.
Last week, Hahn released a video questioning the conservancy’s given rationale and why they have dismissed other proposed solutions.
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