Kill to many

[time2hunt]

Cougar hunters kill more than double recommended guidelines

http://www.king5.com/tech/science/environment/cougar-hunt-exceeds-kill-guidelines/391510894

(Via KING 5)


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[Rainier10]

Well that is an interesting take on the harvest.  I am sure most here would argue that the reason so many were killed in such a short amount of time is their estimate of the population is low and there are more cats out there than they think there are.

The point they make about females getting taken is a good one and if we were still allowed to use dogs I think the harvest would be swayed more towards mature males rather than the way it is now where many of the cats are taken by opportunity not necessarily being targeted.

[Doublelunger]

Lol I would expect nothing less from K5. The whole article is pretty ridiculous but this paragraph is probably my  favorite...

McCoy and others are against cougar hunting altogether, citing the animals ability to self-regulate.
"They don't need to be managed," he said. "Cougars help to maintain healthy populations of deer, elk and smaller animals. For example, they remove deer with chronic wasting disease. By keeping deer populations healthy, cougars are believed to slow the spread of Lyme disease. Cougars also reduce auto collisions with deer, saving dozens of lives. Farmers and orchardists also benefit by having reduced crop damage."

If they want a good example of what happens when you let cougars go unmanaged they should just look at California.

[Rainier10]

 

The line about cougars taking out deer with CWD was interesting.  I am guessing the reason we don't have any documented cases of CWD in Washington is because the cougars are taking them out before the biologists can confirm that it is here.

[Timberstalker]

Liberal sickness.

[bracer40]

Bad reporting. Only one side interviewed and quoted.

[jstone]

Stupid 

[Rainier10]

Bad reporting. Only one side interviewed and quoted.

[pianoman9701]

I can't wait until the so-called "free press" is given their walking papers to make way for real reporting. 

[pianoman9701]

The line about cougars taking out deer with CWD was interesting.  I am guessing the reason we don't have any documented cases of CWD in Washington is because the cougars are taking them out before the biologists can confirm that it is here.

The cougars are being proactive and making sure they kill the deer before they get CWD. 

[JimmyHoffa]

"They don't need to be managed," he said. "Cougars help to maintain healthy populations of deer, elk and smaller animals.

smaller animals= dogs, cats, chickens, livestock and occasionally small humans......

[timberfaller]

Through out this Nation, one thing stands out,  where ever there is a high density of liberal people, clueless-ness abounds(no need to offend real idiots).   

This comes to light over and over again daily as news(FakeNews)is spoken and printed and sent out on social media outlets.

The latest DC "march" further proves this point!!

[sumpnz]

Wildlife agencies need to become conservation agencies and stop representing just 5 percent of the public," Fahy said

Do they really want to go there?  I can think of another group that is at most 5% of the public that wields considerably more power than hunters at the moment.

[bigfish51]

Oh boy!  Talk about a lopsided story.  Yes, more than the quota is being taken in many of the GMU.  As stated before, most of the quota's are low.  WDFW tried to raise the quota's last year and were shut down by our fine governor.  Total BS in my opinion.  Also, stated above, the best management tool we have for cougars was taken away from the hunter's and WDFW when the great state of Seattle voted out the hound hunting back in 1995.  I have seen more and more cougars and cougar sign as the years have gone by.  Heck, ran into a bio doing studies a few years ago in the Tucannon drainage and he told be that they were tracking 15 different cats in that area.  But the quota is only a few cats per year.  A shame that the uninformed seem to run the show or vote for something that they know nothing about!

[garrett89]

They can't generalize just for those specific gmus because there are others where quotas aren't met. And more and more calls for controlling their population in other areas are increasing. I even got e-mailed to go do one in auburn but, I didn't have time to do so then.