Judge allows plan to eradicate deer on California island to move forward

A plan to eliminate Santa Catalina Island’s mule deer can move into its preliminary phase after a judge declined to suspend the project while a legal challenge continues.

The plan would begin with the hunting of about 200 deer this autumn. Catalina Island, the nonprofit organization behind the project, aims to remove the entire population over four to five years to restore native habitats.

The organization says the deer eat a native shrub, allowing invasive grass to spread. That grass catches fire quickly, contributes to erosion and reduces the water reaching aquifers. It also affects habitat and food sources for native species such as the endemic Catalina fox.

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Everyone who loves Catalina Island wants the same thing: a safe and healthy island.

The proposal has provoked public anger from residents and animal-rights activists, who say eradication is excessive for a population that has formed part of Santa Catalina’s landscape for nearly a century. An online petition opposing the measure has gathered more than 32,000 signatures, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn supports keeping roughly 200 deer on the island. The county fire chief has also warned that removing all the deer could increase combustible vegetation in some areas.

Judge Curtis A. Kin said the preliminary phase would not cause irreparable harm because the eradication itself is not scheduled to begin until June 2027. The final decision on the injunction is expected within 90 days. The deer arrived on Santa Catalina in the late 1920s, when about 22 were brought there for sport hunting, and their population later reached roughly 2,000.

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For more than 50 years, the organization has worked alongside the community to care for Catalina’s native flora, fauna and natural spaces. We remain committed to protecting the island we value so highly.