Bill to end cougar hunting in Nebraska moves ahead in Legislature

[proudretiredvet]

4. not a good idea

The public in Cali voted to stop all mountain lion hunting about 20 years ago. It was and is a disaster. Mountain Lions are the top predator in the food chain. The only way to regulate the population and density of the animals was by issuing hunting tags to reduce total numbers and or population density in specific areas. The Ca Dept of Fish and Game no longer has the ability to manage the number of lions and how many there are in different areas.<P>

The deer numbers are way down due to predation by lions. The number of livestock deaths caused by lions went way up. The ranchers simply started shooting every lion they saw on their property. SSS, shoot shovel and shut up became a well used term here. Literally everyone knows what it means and what it applies to.<P>

The Ca DFG, department of fish and game, stood by with a deaf ear and closed eyes and let it all happen. Their reasoning for this is sound. They can pass no law or issue any tags to control the top predator in the food chain. Them looking the other way is the only way they have of managing the lion population.<P>

Allowing the hunting of mountain lions and issuing controlled numbers of tags for specific areas are tools that the wildlife biologists need in controlling the populations of deer, elk, and even the coyotes and smaller feline predators. When there are too many lions the populations of many other species sink like a rock.