Stop the Catalina Island Deer Eradication: Demand an Immediate Pause and Humane Alternatives
To the Catalina Island Conservancy Board of Directors, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Governor Gavin Newsom:

On Catalina Island, California, a wildlife controversy has reached a critical point.

The Catalina Island Conservancy is moving forward with a state-authorized program intended to eliminate the island's non-native mule deer population. Removal operations began in September 2026, with approximately 200 deer expected to be affected during the initial assessment phase.  With the main ( larger) eradification phase expected to begin in June 2027.

These animals did not choose to be brought to the island. Humans introduced them generations ago, and now their descendants face eradication because of the environmental challenges their presence creates.

We believe restoring Catalina Island's ecosystem and treating its wildlife humanely should not be mutually exclusive goals.

We recognize that Catalina Island contains fragile native habitats and that conservation experts have raised serious concerns about the environmental impact of introduced deer.

But the permanent elimination of an entire deer population is an irreversible decision. It deserves the highest standards of scientific transparency, independent scrutiny, and consideration of animal welfare.

We are calling for five specific actions:

Immediately pause further lethal deer-removal operations while an urgent independent review is conducted.
Commission a transparent, independent scientific assessment of nonlethal and less-lethal alternatives, including fertility control, relocation where legally and ecologically feasible, and managed population reduction.
Release the scientific evidence and operational information supporting eradication, including the reasons alternative approaches were rejected.
Include independent wildlife veterinarians, animal welfare organizations, conservation scientists, and Catalina Island residents in an open review process.
Publish a clear, accountable wildlife management plan explaining how native habitats can be restored while minimizing animal suffering.
This petition is not a demand to ignore ecological science. It is a demand that scientific evidence, transparency, and humane treatment guide decisions affecting living animals.

We acknowledge that any alternative must be practical, lawful, environmentally responsible, and capable of protecting the island's native species.

But before irreversible measures continue, the public deserves confidence that those alternatives have received meaningful scrutiny.

These deer did not create this situation. Human decisions did. Human responsibility must now guide what happens next.

We urge the Catalina Island Conservancy, California wildlife officials, and Governor Newsom's administration to act urgently.

Pause the eradication. Review the alternatives. Make compassion and conservation work together.

Please sign and share this petition to call for an immediate review of Catalina Island's deer management program.