Nighttime shooting has begun as conservation officials move ahead with the controversial plan to kill Santa Catalina Island’s mule deer

Jack Gescheidt from The TreeSpirit Project talking about Catalina Island deer

Los Angeles, CA. September 24th, 2026 —  The long-running fight over Santa Catalina Island’s mule deer has entered a new phase: deer are now being killed. Wildlife management crews began ground-based slaughter operations in September as part of the Catalina Island Conservancy’s multi-year effort to eliminate the island’s non-native mule deer population. The killing follows a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling that denied opponents’ request for a preliminary injunction that would have halted the initial phase of the project.

In Defense of Animals (IDA), which opposes the program, says deer are being shot at night and is urging Californians to press Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene. Jack Gescheidt, the organization’s Tule Elk & Forest Consultant who also runs TheTreeSpirit Project, described the operation in a recent appeal as an “extermination” and accused the Catalina Island Conservancy and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife of making the deer scapegoats for environmental problems the targeted animals did not create.

Animal Lovers Urged to Contact California’s Governor NOW

The deer at Catalina Island are being gunned down now. For Gescheidt, that creates urgency that the continuing lawsuit cannot address quickly enough. The organization is asking supporters to contact Governor Newsom and urge state intervention, arguing that once the deer have been killed, subsequent legal victories cannot restore them. They sent the following appeal:

“Take 2 minutes to call Gov. Newsom’s office, 9 am-5 pm, Mon thru Friday: (916) 445-2841. We can all work together to protect the beautiful, innocent deer of Catalina Island. And one day, should you ever visit Catalina, or if a friend does, you’ll know that you helped keep these gentle, innocent friends as precious neighbors which all of us silly humans should enjoy for another 100 years.”

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The Shooting Has Begun

Catalina Island Mule Deer Shutterstock_0524 via IDoA

The current operation is substantially different from an earlier proposal that involved shooting deer from helicopters. That approach generated widespread opposition and was abandoned. The approved program uses shooters working primarily from the ground.

According to a September 12th operations notice from the Conservancy, removal work, ie. the killing of deer, is taking place in the Middle Ranch area during September and October, primarily from 90 minutes before sunset until 90 minutes after sunrise. Firearms, air rifles and tranquilizers may be used, and recreational access is restricted in affected areas overnight. The Conservancy says firearms will not be discharged within 150 yards of buildings. The initial assessment phase is expected to affect roughly 200 deer. The broader state-authorized program, however, calls for the removal of the island’s non-native deer population. A small number around Avalon may instead be sterilized and allowed to remain for the rest of their natural lives.

The War on Wildlife

The mule deer is not native to Santa Catalina Island because they were introduced in the late 1920s and early 1930s for hunting, but opponents of the current plan dispute the need for complete removal. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Catalina, has called for alternatives including maintaining a smaller managed herd. She has argued that deer have been part of island life for generations and that eradication goes further than necessary.

Gescheidt said , “Regardless of the number, all of the island’s gentle, innocent mule deer will be shot by high-powered rifle by the hired contract killer, the White Buffalo company. The bloody deer extermination will last up to five years.”

A Court Fight Over Environmental Review for Catalina Island

Aerial view of Avalon Bay in Santa Catalina Island, tourist attraction in Southern California, USA by Unwind Via Adobe Stock Images

The dispute about Catalina Island’s deer is also being fought in court. In March, Safari Club International and several hunting and wildlife organizations filed suit against the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with the Catalina Island Conservancy named as the real party in interest. The challengers contend, among other claims, that the state improperly allowed the project to proceed without the environmental review they say is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Is There Still a Chance to Save Them?

The state approved the Conservancy’s Restoration Management Permit in January.  On September 3, a Superior Court judge issued a final ruling denying the opponents’ request for a preliminary injunction. That decision allowed the initial deer killing to proceed, but it did not resolve the underlying lawsuit or determine that all of the challengers’ legal claims lack merit. The shooting can continue under the existing permit while the broader challenge to the state’s approval process remains before the court.

For In Defense of Animals, the absence of a conventional full CEQA review is a central objection. Gescheidt argues that an undertaking intended ultimately to eliminate nearly the entire deer population should receive greater environmental scrutiny before irreversible action is taken.

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The Wildfire Argument Is Challenged

Wildfires in California

Wildfire has become one of the most disputed parts of the debate. The Conservancy says deer repeatedly browse native seedlings, helping invasive annual grasses replace native vegetation, which increases fire risk. But Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone has raised a different concern. In a January memo cited by Supervisor Hahn, Marrone warned that complete deer removal could allow chaparral fuel loads to increase. He recommended maintaining a reduced deer population as one tool for limiting understory vegetation and fuel continuity.

Gescheidt said, “Even L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone knows The Conservancy’s claims about wildfire danger are nonsense (and non-science). Marrone is on record as saying that killing the deer is just as likely to increase, not decrease, wildfire danger.”

We invite any party involved in this story to comment at any time.

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