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Show WASATCH MOUNTAIN TIMES Cougars Hunted and Killed in Record Numbers By Christopher Smart tah mountain lions are being huntUs: and killed in record numbers, despite the fact that no one seems to know the size or general health of the state’s cougar population. In the past decade, the number of as many as hunger and “It’s just hunting of interview. three kittens could die of exposure, she said. criminal, this carte blanche cougars,” Pettis said in an cougars killed legally has more than doubled from 200 per season in 198586, to 431 killed in the winter hunting season of 1994-95. For the present mountian lion hunting season, the Utah Wildlife Board issued a record 872 killing permits. The board also issues “chase only” permits, where the big cats are allowed to survive after being tracked down by dogs. With an overall success rate of 51 percent, it can be expected that this winter's “harvest” of mountain lions will number about 436. And that, say critics, is harming the population. Among other things, cougar offspring born in the autumn are dependent on their mothers for survival, explains wildlife activist Margaret Pettis. Utah statistics reveal that fully one-third of those mountain lions killed are adult females. For every female cougar killed in the winter hunt, yA Pettis criticized the Utah Wildlife Board and the State Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) for the apparent lack of concern for the wellbeing of the mountain lion population. “DWR is completely intimidated by the agricultural lobby, ranchers and hunters,” Pettis said. “Hunting, hunting, hunting is what drives the policy, rather than trying to understand the wild population.” \ Tn The number of hunting permits issued last fall even gave pause to DWR Director Robert Valentine, who now says the cougar population may be in decline. Still, the major concern seems to be mountain lion attacks on _ livestock and _ sightings by ranchers. “This year reflected a decrease in those indicators,” Veal e mite nee explained. “There may be an ajustment when the (Wildlife) Board meets next fall.” photo by Howie Garber Meanwhile Tom Hatch, a state legislator from Southern Utah, has introduced legislation to decriminalize poaching of mountain lions. But Hatch says his proposal is misunderstood. “It has been argued that everyone will go out and shoot a cougar. That’s nonsense,” he said, noting the contrast between the by-gone era when a bounty was set On cougars, to the present-day felony charge for poaching. It is unknown how many mountian lions are killed illegally each year. Poaching has proved difficult to dis- cover and even more difficult to prose- —— _ cute. Wildlife advocates say cougar poaching is not uncommon. till, Hatch believes more mountain lions must be killed.”My opinion is that we have a historically high cougar population. Our deer herds will be COUGARS KILLED DWR STATISTICS 90 ‘91 ‘92 '93 “Plugged In’ Real Let these two Live Bonanza Park City Plaza = Kimball Junction PAGE 11 '94 ‘95 YEAR decimated if we don’t take more cougar,” he said. Dr. Max Morgan, the chairman of the Wildlife Board says he doesn't agree with Hatch’s proposal to decriminalize poaching. But he says the cougar population is higher than estimated The last estimate by DWR was a very general one stating that anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 mountain lions resided in Utah. In a Mountian Times interview, Morgan said the actual number of cougars killed from year to year is fairly constant — a statement not born out by DWR’s data. “We could issue 10,000 permits and you would see the same number killed,” he explained. “The houndsmen (hunters) are the bottleneck, they determine how many are taken But Dick Carter, the former director of the Utah Wilderness Association, said the only credible study on cougar populations indicates that mountain lions numbers may be smaller than estimated by the state. ‘Tf that study is right, we could be killing half the cougar population each year. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the cougar population is in big trouble,” he said. @ NOW OPEN’ 1890 Bonanza Drive : G4S-8489 |
