KIHEI - With a population believed to have grown into the tens of thousands on Maui, axis deer are taking a toll on the island's farmers, ranchers and gardeners - and even causing some motor vehicle accidents, officials said this week.
To address the problem, Maui County Council Member Mike White said, he plans to bring the issue before the council's Economic Development, Agriculture and Recreation Committee in the coming months.
"My interest is simply in getting information into the committee hearing and hearing from farmers and ranchers about the size of the problem and any possible solutions," White said. "This is a major invasive species that we need to get a handle on."
The committee's work would piggyback on the research already being done by an informal group of farmers, ranchers and hunters and state and county officials, said Warren Watanabe, executive director of the Maui County Farm Bureau.
"It is a very serious problem for agriculture," Watanabe said. "Everything from pineapple to sugar cane to lettuce and cabbage is being eaten up.
"Something needs to be done," he said, adding that he was particularly concerned about how the deer jeopardize the viability of farmers. "It's about sustainability. Anything that hits their bottom line puts them at risk."
The deer also pose a health risk by carrying disease that can be passed on through their feces to people.
The deer have no natural predators on Maui, and hunter Darrell Tanaka said he understands from talking to a state biologist that as much as 80 percent of the female deers in a herd are pregnant and even a population cut in half can return in a season.
Other states have struggled for years to control their deer populations. Communities have tried combinations of capture and sterilization, but that has become less popular because it's time-consuming and expensive. Programs also have been created to give hunters incentives to cull deer populations, and other options have included building fences and making deer-feeding bins illegal.
It's believed that the spotted axis deer were introduced to Maui in the early 1900s for sport, along with a number of game birds.
Tanaka said axis deer on Maui appear to have learned where hunters seek them out, such as at the Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area. Deer have migrated to other areas, raiding home gardens for food and eating golf course grass.
Maui Police Department records show that the ranches and golf courses report illegal hunting on their properties nearly every weekend.
While Maui police said they know that deer have caused auto accidents, statistics on the number of deer collisions were not readily available.
Deer also enjoy the watered grass reserved for cattle. During the last drought on Maui, the deer created massive herds and ate everything they could, said Haleakala Ranch President Don Young.
Maui state lawmakers, including Wailuku House Rep. Joe Souki, West and South Maui Sen. Roz Baker and Central Maui Sen. Shan Tsutsui, said they are aware of the problem, but no one has approached them with a solution.
"I think it's out of control at this point," Souki said. "And while we might not have the solution, I'd like to see the state handle it with the big landowners."
* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.
