The black-tailed deer of Angel Island State Park, Marin County, California have been the subject of a controversy over how deer herd numbers should be reduced and maintained below subsistence density. The estimated population has been as high as 300 in 1966 on the one mile square island. California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wanted to shoot the excess deer or introduce predators. Humane groups, specifically San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), successfully opposed this. They maintain that this is cruel and inhumane. Protectionists advocate relocation or birth control for the deer. The conflict over the means of managing these deer is the result of difference in values and attitudes towards wildlife. Fish and Game is concerned with entire populations or species of animals. SPCA is concerned with the protection of individual animals. These attitudinal differences are reflected in the preferred number of deer to be maintained on the island and the management techniques to be used. Future planning will also be affected. The Department of Fish and Game needs to understand attitudes that affect wildlife management. They also need to increase personal communication with public interest groups and improve their efforts in public relations.
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