Re: A nonprofit wants sharpshooters in helicopters to kill over 2,000 invasive deer living on California's Catalina Island

[Newsom murders]

Will Garrison <now...@protonmail.com> wrote in
news:udfjdg$3hjqi$6...@dont-email.me:

> Democrats are only animals lovers when they can get their ugly mugs on
> TV for political gain. Otherwise, fuck Bambi up the ass with a .270.

A nonprofit that manages much of Catalina Island is seeking to cull some
2,000 mule deer.

The Catalina Island Conservancy argues that the invasive species
threatens the local ecosystem.

The plan is to hire sharpshooters to kill the deer from helicopters, the
Los Angeles Times reported.

Catalina Island is just a short boat ride off the coast of Southern
California, welcoming over a million tourists a year seeking a peaceful
respite from the hustle and smog of Los Angeles.

But the nonprofit that administers much of the island, home to just over
4,000 people year-round, says its very existence as a functioning
ecosystem is threatened by a couple of thousand unwanted guests: mule
deer, an invasive species first introduced to the island back in the
late 1920s when it was still being used for ranching.

The plan is to kill them — specifically, by hiring people to shoot them
from helicopters.

"The island and the deer are both fighting for survival, and neither one
is winning," Whitney Latorre, chief executive of the Catalina Island
Conservancy, told the Los Angeles Times.

The problem is that Catalina's semi-arid land is no match for the
roughly 2,000 deer, who are competing for a diminishing amount of
vegetation, a situation exacerbated by the climate crisis.

"Unless we address the deer issue, the island will become more and more
vulnerable to the devastating consequences brought on by rising
temperatures and drought," Latorre said.

Her organization has proposed partnering with another nonprofit, White
Buffalo Inc., which employs hunters "to help preserve native species and
ecosystems," according to its website.

Catalina has battled — and eliminated — invasive species before. In
1990, hunters killed about 1,700 goats in the span of two weeks,
according to the Los Angeles Times. No goats can be found on the island
today (Catalina's pig population suffered the same fate).

Bison, too, pose a threat. But they have not been eliminated: The herd
has been reduced from about 400 in 1990 to about 100 today through the
use of birth control.

The proposal to eliminate mule deer through a mass culling, by contrast,
has proven controversial among residents and those concerned with animal
welfare. Indeed, not everyone views the mule deer as a threat that needs
to be eradicated.

"The mule deer have been on this island for nearly 100 years. Their
gentle presence is an integral part of our island's natural appeal,"
Dianne Stone of the Catalina Island Humane Society wrote in a recent
letter to The Catalina Islander, a local newspaper.

The local Humane Society does not oppose all killing of deer, Stone
noted; hunters can already sign up for multi-day expeditions. What it
opposes is killing them all — and doing so from above in a matter it
considers "gruesome and violent." Instead, it advocates a "nonlethal
solution," similar to that used for bison: a form of birth control,
known as porcine zona pelludcia (PZP) immunocontraception.

"Where is the dignity in slaughtering these innocent animals which are
beloved by so many?" Stone asked. A petition opposing the mass culling
plan now has over 3,200 signatures.

The conservancy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://news.yahoo.com/nonprofit-wants-sharpshooters-helicopters-kill-194
536353.html