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Officials charged with protecting a California island are refusing to abandon a plan to use helicopter-mounted sharpshooters to eliminate its invasive mule deer, despite a petition that's attracted thousands of signatures.
"While shooting from helicopters sounds cruel, it is, in fact, the safest, fastest and most humane method to utilize," a Catalina Island Conservancy spokesperson told Fox News.
Despite the roughly 1,800 deer causing soil erosion and endangering other plants and animal species, according to the conservancy’s restoration plan, more than 4,800 people signed a petition, "Stop the Slaughter of Mule Deer on Catalina Island," as of Wednesday afternoon. It aims to let state officials "now that the humane treatment of the mule deer on Catalina is essential."
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The conservancy spokesperson said the organization repeatedly tried to convince the petition’s organizers that it was necessary to remove all the mule deer, which were introduced to the Southern California island in the 1930s.
"We presented this information to the organizers of the petition months ago and offered follow-up meetings," she said. "The reason the petition has so much information on our actions is because we provided it to them."
The petition calls for the public to have more time to assess information, engage in "constructive criticism and problem solving as well as register their humane concerns."
The conservancy plans to have sharpshooters from White Buffalo Inc., a Connecticut-based nonprofit, hunt the deer with AR-15-style rifles from helicopters to reach the island’s inaccessible interior, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"THEY ARE NOT TRYING TO KILL THEIR DEER, THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL YOUR DEER," reads the petition, which requests California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officials to intervene.
The mule deer in Catalina Island often visit vacation hotspots and are fed by tourists illegally. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The conservancy spokesperson said the organization, a private land trust that manages about 88% of the approximately 48,000-acre island, is working closely with CDFW and other agencies on the final details of the plan.
For decades, the conservancy sought solutions for damage the deer inflicted, according to the spokesperson.
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"We studied the methodologies utilized on other islands both from a scientific point of view and a safety perspective," she said. "We have determined that the most effective solution is to remove the deer by the most humane method available."
Catalina Island Humane Society Vice President Dianne Stone told the LA Times that the proposed hunt is "violent and ugly."
"We are completely against the slaughter of innocent mule deer on Catalina Island," she said.
The spokesperson said that although the island has had one of California’s longest hunting seasons for more than 25 years, it's been ineffective at managing the deer population.
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Mule deer are harming the ecosystem of Catalina Island, according to the the Catalina Island Conservancy. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
"Their population is much larger than the Island can sustain," she said. " They are starving and not living a quality life."
The conservancy spokesperson said fencing in the deer or capturing them to administer birth control is "impractical" because of Catalina Island’s rugged terrain. Even if officials could sterilize the deer, it wouldn't alleviate any immediate damage.
Relocating the deer also isn't viable because shipping them off "has been proven to cause ‘capture myopathy,’ a disease in which muscle damage results from extreme exertion, struggle, or stress," the spokesperson told Fox News.
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"This is a difficult situation, but Catalina is at a tipping point," she said. "If no steps are taken, it will not survive for future generations to enjoy."
The conservancy spokesperson warned that an "unbalanced ecosystem" can lead to catastrophes such as the Maui wildfires, which killed 97 people this summer.
Helicopters are sometimes used for hunting animals that are hard to reach by foot. (Joe Rimkus Jr./Miami Herald/MCT)
"Our ecosystem is in danger, and the Catalina Island Restoration Project seeks to protect the Island for the long term," she told Fox News.
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She said the conservancy is listening to feedback but wants the community to understand "how vital this project is to the vitality and resiliency of the Island for future generations."
"We would like to extend our deepest compassion to those who are wrestling with this issue," the spokesperson said. "If we don’t act, the deer will continue to suffer and the Island will deteriorate."
"The deer and the Island are both fighting for survival and neither are winning," she added.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story misattributed the quotes from the Catalina Island Conservancy spokesperson.
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