Sundays Hunt: HB469 won’t just 'manage' cougars in Utah. It will exterminate them.
A 4-year-old female mountain lion slowly shakes off the effects of a sedative after researchers from Utah State University and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources replaced her radio-collar afer being captured in the Oquirrh Mountains recently.Utah has never exactly been a safe haven for cougars. In fact, hundreds of them are killed every year by trophy hunters here.
The recreational trapping of cougars has long been prohibited — and for good reason. Cougar trapping is inherently cruel and will undoubtedly result in the non-target captures of both wildlife and pets, including working dogs on our public lands. In fact, it’s so awful that only two other states permit trapping cougars. A year-round season will also harm dependent kittens, leaving them vulnerable to death from starvation, predation and exposure.
In 2019, Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources estimated the adult cougar population to be around 2,000 individuals. Yet 667 cougars were killed by trophy hunters in 2021 — a whopping 33% of the population. If trapping is added to the mix, it’s terrifying to think what impact that will have on Utah’s cougar population. HB469 won’t just “manage” cougars in Utah. It will exterminate them.
Apart from the harm this will cause to the cougar population and Utah’s ecosystems, increased killing will likely result in unintended consequences to Utah’s livestock producers, too . According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,of cattle losses in Utah are from cougars. But random killing destabilizes cougars’ social structure, leading to more young and inexperienced cougars going into an area and potentially resorting to livestock as an easy meal.
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