"Catalina’s deer population, which is at 8x – 10x the density of the mainland, is suffering while also devastating our fragile ecosystem as they attempt to survive," the Catalina Island Conservancy stated in its restoration plan.
The mule deer, introduced to the southern California island in the 1930s, have surged in population due to the lack of natural predators. Visitors frequently and illegally feed the deer, which often roam in popular tourist spots.
Some alternatives have proven to be ineffective, including the current hunting program, which only allows 200 a year to be killed, the L.A. Times reported, and California laws prevent the conservancy from providing mule deer with additional food while water would increase the possibility of disease transfer.