Help Us Stop the Eradication of Catalina Island’s Mule Deer

Catalina Island’s mule deer are facing elimination.

The Catalina Island Conservancy has obtained state authorization for a plan intended to eradicate the island’s entire mule deer population. The Coalition to Save Catalina Island Deer Fund was formed to oppose that outcome and to advocate for humane, transparent, and scientifically responsible stewardship of Catalina’s wildlife.

We are now engaged in an urgent legal and public advocacy effort to stop the eradication plan before it is carried out.

The Fight Is Underway

This is not a theoretical debate about what might happen someday. The eradication plan has been approved, implementation is approaching, and the legal challenge is already underway.

We are working with a broad coalition to challenge the government actions that allowed the plan to proceed without the full environmental review, public accountability, and careful consideration that a decision of this magnitude demands.

Litigation is costly. So are the expert review, records work, public education, community outreach, and communications necessary to support it. We need help sustaining this fight at the moment it matters most.

What Your Donation Supports

Your contribution will help fund:

Legal fees and litigation expenses incurred in challenging the eradication plan;
Scientific and expert review of the claims being used to justify eradication;
Public education and community outreach;
Government accountability and conservation advocacy;
Records, research, communications, and other expenses necessary to protect Catalina’s deer and advance humane, science-based stewardship.

Why This Matters

Eradication is irreversible.

Once Catalina’s deer are gone, no later study, public hearing, or change in policy can restore what was lost. A decision with permanent consequences for the island’s wildlife, community, and identity should not be carried out without rigorous science, lawful environmental review, meaningful public scrutiny, and serious consideration of humane alternatives.

We do not accept eradication as inevitable. We are fighting it.

Help Us Continue the Fight

Our supporters have already shown that people on Catalina and far beyond the island care deeply about what happens to these animals. But public opposition alone will not pay the legal and advocacy costs required to confront a powerful institution and an approved government action.

Please donate to help us stop the eradication of Catalina Island’s mule deer and continue the fight for a humane, lawful, and accountable approach to their future.

The deer cannot afford for us to give up now.

Support Protection for Catalina Island Deer

Ensuring a sustainable future for the island's unique wildlife