Maui Has An Axis Deer Problem. So The State Has Put A Price On Their Tails
Landowners will get paid for killing the deer as part of a new animal control program run by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The state is preparing to launch a new program that aims to curb the invasive axis deer in Maui County by offering landowners $50 for each killed deer.
The deer have been problematic for years, wreaking havoc by eating crops and grasses meant for cattle and by entering neighborhoods in search of more food.
A recent estimate pegged the population at about 18,000. Jeff Bagshaw of the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife described that as “really amazing news” considering a 2022 estimate had the population at 60,000.
Now DOFAW, which falls under the Department of Land and Natural Resources, is calling for small and medium-sized landowners to
Some 10% of the population will need to be culled each year to keep the population around 20,000, which DOFAW says is ideal.
“Right now we’re meeting or exceeding that,” Bagshaw said.
About 7,000 deer are harvested across the county through public and private hunting efforts.
The 20,000 equilibrium has been formulated with landowners in mind, so they are not overburdened by rampant overgrazing and can minimize impacts to watersheds, but also benefit from the deer’s existence.
Some landowners have commercial hunting and meat harvesting operations, as axis deer is prized for both trophy hunting and its meat.
“On state lands, where we have watersheds, we go for a zero population,” Bagshaw said. “We’ve always pretty much had that. The issue has always been on private lands.”
Actively hunting and shooting deer is now considered the best population management tool alongside fencing, which is an expensive way to keep deer out of especially important natural environments — 110,000 acres of Maui, Lanai and Molokai is fenced.
Under the incentive program, DOFAW is offering up to $50 for each deer that qualifying landowners kill, seeking the deer’s tails as proof.
Conservationists say targeting females is the best means of population control, given their reproduction rate. Populations can inflate 20% to 30% annually if left unchecked.
“Our very skewed sex ratios are not natural,” Bagshaw said. “The human inclination of ‘I’m not going to kill Bambi’s mom,’ has really come back to bite us.”
Landowners are being asked to set a number of deer they intend to cull over the course of 2024 and will have the year to meet that number. Their until 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
At its worst the deer population caused millions of dollars in damage. The deer spread invasive weeds, trampled native plant species and damaged watersheds.
In 2021, during a period of sustained drought, deer began entering residents’ properties and developed areas in search of food, leading then-Gov. David Ige to declare a series of emergency proclamations aimed at constricting the animals’ impact on the landscape.
Environmentalists have previously advocated for eradicating the entire deer population but met resistance, given the South Asian import’s value to the community as a source of food and recreation.
“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
