Quote:
Originally Posted by 8gv
Why would that be?
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As you may or may not know, the F&G department has approved by a 5-4 vote, in spite of overwhelming negative comments asking not to approve a trapping season, to have a lottery draw for 50 permits to trap bobcats each year.
There are an estimated 1200 bobcats in the state, if I remember the numbers. Unlike a hunting season for moose or deer, where the female of the species is readily evident by antlers, trapping will indiscriminately trap either sex. The recovery of the bobcat from endangered to nearly extinct in NH, while substantial, is by no means a total success. Not being able to exclude the trapping of the female of the species is not possible.
These creatures, while conceivably could attack our pets, seem to prefer to chase down their natural prey, such as small rodents and birds / fowl. I can't remember ever hearing about a bobcat attacking a family pet.
Is it probable that the trapping will turn the recovery of the species around and put it in a decline? Probably not. Will it slow down the recovery? Perhaps. Perhaps it will depend on how many female cats are killed each year.
I just think that there is not the need for a trapping season of this species. A large number of people have spoken against this trapping season, but the Department has chosen to listen to a small group of trappers in favor of the season. Therein lies the shame of it all, IMHO.