Cougar Harvest question

[Crowns]

I'm sure you mean well by your question. But I couldn't help but be irritated a little by your hypothetical question. I shot one a couple years ago, they are delicious. Better than venison in my opinion. On top of this, it does have a niche in the ecosystem. I just don't feel like any game animal should be harvested in vein. Don't pull the trigger if you can't pack it out. Just my opinion.

So........................you ever shot a coyote? Did you eat it?

No I have never ate a coyote I've shot. Predators have to be managed just as well as their prey. I don't deny that. Our wildlife is so heavily human impacted that it can't support the natural checks and balances of predator/prey relationships. So I do my part to try and keep things to a balance just like any other outdoorsman. Mountain lions need to be managed too. But its very edible so why kill one in vein, just to leave its meat. Someone more appreciative of the animal could harvest it in the future. Or it could just succumb to old age after fulfilling its life cycle. Again just my 2 cents and this is how I was raised.

[Rainier10]

Delicious, we pack them all out.  The tough one was 3 miles in on opening day of archey elk season right after lunch.  We tied it to a big limb and packed it out whole, less the guts, there were four of us so we worked in teams of two.  They are lean and delicious, great in stir fry with teriyaki or soy sauce.  Never really thought about if it was required or not, good question.

[buckfvr]

So some of you dont think youve eaten cat of some sort   Ever eat teriyaki bowls or the like ?  Id bet most of us older guys have had cat a time or two with out knowing.......

ANd if any of you  eat humpy or chum salmon,  Id think theres nothing in the whole world youd pass on.  Keep the rotted fish and give me the cougar.

[400out]

         you ever seen what cats do          never mind!

[BOWHUNTER45]

So some of you dont think youve eaten cat of some sort   Ever eat teriyaki bowls or the like ?  Id bet most of us older guys have had cat a time or two with out knowing.......

ANd if any of you  eat humpy or chum salmon,  Id think theres nothing in the whole world youd pass on.  Keep the rotted fish and give me the cougar.

Thats where most of the city cats end up 

[400out]

 

[Doc Sauce]

I just had cat in Sangihe Indonesia a couple weeks ago... or  maybe it was dog.  I know it was one of the two  .  If Cougar (or coyote for that matter) tastes as good as those "chicken sticks" off the grill, with a little bit of that strange sweet and spicy red sauce...   Then I'm up for some Cougar eatin!

[grundy53]

They are considered a big game animal. I always thought you couldn't waste a big game animal  .

[MADMAX]

Bone it out, pack it out  and try some
delicious

[threedwizard]

Take the backstraps and hinds! My wife calls it the prime rib of pork, and all my family has enjoyed cougar meat.

[bucklucky]

Actually in Colorado you have to take cougar meat , its the law. Here is a link , then go to page 6 and under "special regulations" go to #7 and it clearly states : All edible part of the cougar must be prepared for human consumption.

 http://www.flipseekpubs.com/publication/?i=84750

[Todd_ID]

Since I know where he's hoping to harvest this mythical critter, then I feel compelled to provide my  .  I would shoot one there in a NY second.  I would not pack out the meat or hide.  You lose 2 days of hunting your targeted species which we spend all year thinking and dreaming about on here.  Our seasons are short; cougar is good; it's not good enough to lose 2 days. 
I will pack a bear out because it's required.  I would not pack the hide out; that's 4 days lost instead of 2.  I would shoot both to help the deer and elk population.

[DBHAWTHORNE]

Cougar meat is great... certainly better than bear meat. 

[blacktailcody]

My all time favorite meat is cougar (with grouse and bacon of course).

[runamuk]

I'm sure you mean well by your question. But I couldn't help but be irritated a little by your hypothetical question. I shot one a couple years ago, they are delicious. Better than venison in my opinion. On top of this, it does have a niche in the ecosystem. I just don't feel like any game animal should be harvested in vein. Don't pull the trigger if you can't pack it out. Just my opinion.

admittedly my own instinct is the same however this same idea can be applied to all creatures we can shoot, thus crows, coyotes, and coons should also all be treated in this manner if we are to apply this broad brush of ethics.

that said I am not completely sure what the wastage rules are with regard to cougar, I have had it and it was a lot like pork that same day I had deer that tasted like gamey grossness  so in that vein under those circumstances based on how the deer tasted it shoulda been left behind