Axis deer, invasive and detrimental to Molokaʻi’s fragile ecosystem, have also fed the local community for generations. But with the prolonged drought, these starving wildlife are destroying farm crops and forest watershed, leading to erosion and runoff into the ocean.
“They started moving into the farm area and are just raising hell,” said Glenn Teves, Extension agent and Molokaʻi native, in a recent interview for the Star Advertiser newspaper about the ongoing situation. He suggests that killing the deer for slaughterhouses could help food banks and those in need during the pandemic.
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