User:Rebeccahale01/Santa Catalina Island (California)

Santa Catalina Mule Deer Controversy
100 years ago, mule deer were introduced to the island for hunting opportunities. The deer have become tourist attractions and are part of the resident's daily lives on the island. The deer roam around the island and through the city of Avalon, where you can see herds grazing in people's yards and in large fields of vegetation. The Catalina Island Conservancy feels that the deer are doing severe damage to the native plants and vegetation on the island. The deer are not native and were introduced to the island relatively recently, so the conservancy has decided that the course of action is to eradicate 2,000 of the deer population. In late 2023, the conservancy published their plan of action, and it is now facing severe backlash about their eradication method. The planned method is to hire White Buffalo, Inc., to sharpshoot deer from a low hovering helicopter using lethal rounds to kill them. This has sparked severe controversy among locals and conversationalists from all around the world. Supporters of keeping the deer on the island are arguing that it is inhumane and that they are an ecologically vital part of the island's ecosystems. A petition by Change.org to "Stop the Slaughter of Mule Deer on Catalina Island" has been signed by over 18,000 people in support of keeping the deer from being slaughtered in that manner. Many residents are in support of allowing hunters to shoot and kill the deer humanely for meat in order to keep the numbers at bay, but the conservancy has rejected that course of action. On April 23, 2024, Los Angeles County officials rejected the plan to kill the deer, and are asking for the situation to play out in a more humane manner.