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Letter: Proposed cougar hunting quotas are scientifically unsound

Lynn Chamberlain | Utah Division of Wildlife Resources The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources recommended hiking the number of cougar hunting permits for the 2016-17 season. Last year, permitted hunters bagged 371 cougars.

I am shocked and disheartened to hear of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ recently proposed cougar hunting quotas for the upcoming hunting season. The proposed quotas are scientifically unsound and allow an irresponsibly high level of trophy hunting on cougars, potentially threatening the future survival of the species in Utah. Utah’s cougars are rare on the landscape and deserve protection from cruel and unnecessary trophy hunting.

Extensive research shows that the proposed quotas far exceed what would be considered sustainable for Utah’s cougar population and threaten the species’ persistence in our state. Not including the multiple regions with unlimited cougar hunting in our state, DWR’s increased quota would allow the killing of almost 40 percent of the state’s mature-aged cats — those old enough to be legally hunted.

The increase is irresponsible and not justified by the country’s best available science on cougar management. Utah’s own cougar biologists have repeatedly warned that DWR permits far too much trophy hunting of cougars. We need to be reducing quotas and implementing stronger protections to support the survival of this species.

I’ll be voicing my opinion on this harmful killing at the Wildlife Board’s public meeting Aug. 30 in Salt Lake City.

Jennifer Reilly, Sandy

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