There are a fair number of mountain lions in the mountains around Pocatello (where I live) and nearby. There is a story like this about every 3 or 4 years.
3 malnourished cougar kittens killed in E. Idaho. AP
Update Jan. 31. This action has not gone down well. There have been a lot of LTE against it in the Pocatello paper (these not on-line) and here in the Idaho Statesman. Letters to the Editor: Cougars
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project and the creator of The Wildlife News.
There was a lion killed here in Valley County that appeared on the front page of the Star News this week. It apparently was living under someone’s home and killed their dog. I don’t know if there was anything wrong with it because I didn’t buy the paper but I believe that it was the right thing to do in this case. I also think that the person who shot it received permission to do so even though he probably didn’t need to in this case.
This makes me so glad that hunting with dogs is illegal in Colorado. Although there are some who do it anyway.
I hope those hunters enjoy the pictures they got. Now when they look at them they can remember the 3 lives that it cost…..for a picture. They may not have killed the lion but surly killed her litter…Thanks so much, I would rather see the lions alive not dead…just for a picture!!!
From the story: “Many hound hunters prefer not to shoot their quarry,” Mark Gamblin, supervisor for Fish and Game’s southeast region, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Their objective is to enjoy the chase and take photographs of the cats when they’ve been treed, then let them go.”
Treeing a lion with dogs “for sport” with no intention to kill it is nothing more than harassment.
Ah, yes, the modern life of a “sportsman.” Hunting lions with dogs equipped with radio collars, hunting elk on ORVs, slaughtering coyotes by the hundreds, and soon – tags will be available to kill DEVIL WOLVES…!
—
Mack P. Bray
My opinions are my own
wildlifewatchers@bresnan.net
http://wildlifewatchers.jottit.com/
And these lion hunters call it a “sport” and they say it’s “fair chase”….What bullshit..It’s disgusting.
Life is life, wether it is animal or “civilized animal”. This story reminds me of the horrible injustice that it perpetuated by human logic (or the lack thereof) running rampade in Idaho. I would love for there to be a mandatory education course in Ecology for all hunters, make that a refresher course for Fish and Game too, ensuring everyone understands their impact on the ecosystem.
Sadly, people get so hung up on their “rights as an American” and the laws that bind us to illogical actions to ever question what works and what does not for the surviving environment. Just because you have enough money in your pocket to by a tag for a hunt, doesn’t mean it is your right to act in a retarded fashion. There should be a law in place for stupidity like this.
Cougars are an absoultely stunning creature and it is not surprising that people are interested in seeing them, too bad these hunters made this predator too weak to provide for it’s young instead of mauling them horror movie style.
Cougar mothers are the most loving and attentive maternal creature’s in the animal kingdom, no doubt the impact upon this mother will go as un-reccognized as common sense did for the so called hunters.
Hunting with dogs illegal in Colorado??? You made my day!
Catbestland,
According to the document below it looks like it is still legal to hunt mt. lions with dogs in CO 🙁
http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/6E977561-C613-466D-BCFC-2CA9C9C91CD9/0/Ch02.pdf
Kevin,
This document is 156 pages long. Where do you see the information about hunting with dogs. I just went through this with another hunter that posts here and CDOW confirmed to me with the statutes showing that it is illegal to hunt anything in Colorado with dogs. Perhaps it changed this year.
Sorry I should have put up a page number.
Top of page 53.
Kevin,
That’s awful I’m going to have to raise h___ about that. I thought that a few years ago they passed a law that made it illegal to hunt anything in Colorado with dogs. Maybe lions were the exception. One of the problems I see with hunting with dogs is the cruelty issue where the dogs are concerned. There is a guy that lives near us that hunts with dogs (I thought he was hunting in another state) and his dogs NEVER get out of their tiny, fifthy pens until he hunts about once a year.
Hi catbestland, how ya be? are there not any animal right laws in your area, keeping dogs in filthy pens is illegal almost in every state. If those dogs are really penned up 24/7 and in bad conditions someone needs to speak out about it to the proper authorities! could you not make a call to the local animal regulators/shelter in their behalf. Just a thought….Have a good one!
Well, at least we now know what photos NOT to buy…
I don’t think it’s illegal to use dogs to hunt in Colorado. They use them to hunt birds, coyotes, and cougars. I even believe that they have guided hunts for cougar with dogs.
Harmony, I don’t know that an ecology course would “ensure” that every hunter understands their impact on the ecosystem. There is no excuse if hunters were treeing the lions just to take a picture. However, whether lion hunters or not I think we all fall victim to the tragedy of the commons to some extent.
Hunting cougars with dogs is the best management technique availible for controlling cougar populations. It ensures that the animal being killed is the intended quarry. No dogs = any cat being shot without regard to sex or age.
Ryan, you’re full of crap. A lion in a tree can’t alway be sexed, expecially when they’re way the hell up there.
—
Mack P. Bray
Wildlife Watchers
wildlifewatchers@bresnan.net