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Dear Friend,

Together, we have evolved. WE ARE THE COALITION AGAINST THE SLAUGHTER OF CATALINA DEER — Catalina residents, business owners, visitors, hunters, those interested in animal welfare, government officials and others. If you agree with us, PLEASE sign on and share with others. We need your help to avoid the slaughter:

OVERVIEW - The Catalina Island Conservancy has announced that it will slaughter ALL California Mule deer (likely 1,000 animals) using sharpshooters in helicopters in the skies abutting the community of Avalon. According to the Conservancy’s own data, at least half the deer reside within Avalon city limits, where they will additionally “take” deer using grisly and inhumane techniques.

We are vehemently opposed to the eradication of deer on Catalina Island, in part, because of the following:

1.  WE VALUE the deer that have been on the island for more than a hundred years as an important part of the recreational and scenic experience of the Catalina Island—an experience the Conservancy’s Open Space Easement and tax exemption requires it to provide to the public. We expect our values to be respected.

2.  THERE WAS NO MEANINGFUL PUBLIC PROCESS - As it did with previous failed applications for permits to manage or eradicate the deer that it filed in 2012 and 2016, the Conservancy once again failed to engage in any reasonable process of public discourse, and instead, decided unilaterally to exterminate the deer that are the property of we, the people of California. We are incensed by this.

3.  BEST WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE - Contrary to Conservancy reports, hunters on the island report that the population is “extremely healthy” and at an “all-time low in population.” When the Conservancy was censured by the California Attorney General in 1981 for not providing sufficient recreational access to its lands, the Conservancy itself stated in court documents that: “Hunting is considered to be the most effective means of wildlife management.” We agree.

4.  INHUMANE TACTICS - Extermination by sharpshooters in the island's interior, and “net and bolting” deer within my Avalon City limits since hunting is not permitted, is unnecessarily cruel and brutal and can inflict extreme suffering on deer. We vehemently oppose this and will use every lawful means possible to thwart it.

5.  ENVIRONMENTAL EXTREMISM - When the California Department of Fish and Wildlife denied the Conservancy’s 2016 confidential petition to eradicate all deer on the island, it described a process by which the Conservancy could pursue increasing the number of deer allowed to be taken by hunters. We demand that the Conservancy pursue this, or another moderate solution to deer management that can be agreed upon by the PEOPLE that it also must serve.

Do you agree? Join us. Want to do more? Send your first name, last name and email to savecatalinadeer@gmail.com so we can call on you when we need your help.

Sincerely yours,

The Coalition Against the Slaughter of Catalina Deer