California wildlife regulators have authorized armed “ground-based specialists” to kill off the mule deer population on Catalina Island, part of a multi-year effort backed by the nonprofit that owns most of the island.
The eradication, branded the Catalina Island Restoration Project, is being carried out under a permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and is promoted by the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy, which owns roughly 42,000 acres — about 80 percent of the island, according to Meeteater.com.
The effort is designed to unfold over several years, with removal methods shifting as the project advances.
State Plan Cites Native Vegetation Loss
In a summary of the plan, California Fish and Wildlife frames the project as a conservation measure aimed at protecting rare and endemic plant life. The agency notes that mule deer are native to most of California but were historically absent from Catalina and the other Channel Islands. The deer now on the island descend from animals intentionally introduced in the 1920s.
According to the state’s summary, the introduced deer have reduced Catalina’s rare and endemic vegetation cover by selectively browsing on those plants, giving invasive species a chance to outcompete them and contributing to habitat type conversion across the island.
The agency says the project “will conserve, restore, protect, enhance, and assist in the recovery of California native wildlife, and the habitat upon which they depend.”
Killing Tactics Shift From Year to Year
The removal operation moves through distinct phases. In year one, the plan calls for “professional shooting with bait/water sites” and “nocturnal ground shooting.”
Year two adds “aerial net capture” along with “ground shooting with detection dogs [and] helicopter support.” Methods continue to evolve in subsequent years, the summary indicates.
The population targeted is estimated at about 2,000 deer. An October 2023 photo caption from the Los Angeles Times via Getty Images described Catalina Island residents forming a group to stop the conservancy from proceeding with a plan to shoot and kill all of the island’s mule deer.
Legal Fight and a Decisive Court Ruling
The plan drew legal resistance. In early August 2026, Safari Club International and others asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court to block the eradication.
That effort ultimately failed. On September 3, 2026, the Guardian reported that a judge “paved the way for the island’s conservancy to kill nearly all the island’s 2,000 deer.”
The ruling effectively cleared the path for the conservancy to move forward with the state-authorized program.
Protest and Ongoing Opposition
Opposition has been visible on the island itself. Protesters with the Coalition Against the Slaughter of Catalina Deer have gathered in Avalon, holding signs as visitors arrived on the Catalina Express boat, according to previous reporting.
The coalition, formed by island residents, was created specifically to stop the conservancy from proceeding with the plan.
For now, the state’s authorization and the court’s decision allow the multi-year removal to continue, with armed specialists operating on the ground under the Catalina Island Restoration Project.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/10/12/california-fish-and-wildlife-using-armed-ground-based-specialists-to-rid-catalina-island-of-mule-deer/