A herd of deer are devouring rare native plants at the William Floyd Estate on Fire Island off of Long Island. The property’s federal caretakers want to cull the deer, but wildlife groups have stalled the hunt in court.
In November the Animal Welfare Institute sued the Fire Island National Seashore to prevent a deer management plan that they say violates hunting restrictions on wildlife preserves.
That would prevent a cull during litigation. However, Fire Island officials planned to cull 100 deer this week. A hearing was scheduled for Thursday to address the plan.
“But we’re arguing that really it’s unnecessary to kill deer anywhere on the seashore and in the specific, this week, we’re arguing that they’re violating an agreement they made with us and the court,” said Nadia Adawi, executive director of the D.C.-based institute.
A U.S. district court judge will decide whether to delay the cull further.