ISLESBORO — Voters in the island town of Islesboro have approved a plan to kill hundreds of deer on the island to stop what has been described as a Lyme disease epidemic.

Islanders on Wednesday night voted 100 to 28 in favor of allowing hunters with firearms to kill about 400 of about 500 deer on the island. The town will cull the herd from about 50 deer per square mile to about 10 per square mile and then work to maintain the lower population levels.

Of the island’s 600 year-round residents, the Bangor Daily News says about 70 have contracted the tick-borne Lyme disease.