It’s been nearly a year (March 17, 2023) since Gov. Spencer Cox signed HB469 (Wildlife Related Amendments) into law. The language inserted into this bill supersedes the long standing DWR cougar management plan. A paragraph in that bill, you may recall, allows for the year-round killing of cougars, at one’s own discretion if they have a general hunting license. It allows the taking of a cougar’s life by any means, including never before allowed leg traps and neck snares.
While hunting for a trophy is considered by the majority of citizens to be a morally reprehensible reason for ending an animal’s life, the extreme nature of this new policy may lead, intentionally or not, to the eradication of our entire unknowable size of our cougar population. It might bring into question the way the wording was injected into an otherwise larger and fully vetted bill and made known to legislators just days before the session concluded and with little time for debate or public input.
A coalition of wildlife advocacy nonprofits has since filed a lawsuit with the state to reverse this ruling. We who want wild animals to live in peace in our state can support this effort by contacting our representatives and senators. Respectfully tell them why it is personally important to you that they reverse this policy. Ask for their commitment to do so as their constituent and voter in their district.
Visit le.utah.gov. Click on Legislators. Click on Find by Address/Map. Then type in your address and zip code. Your representative’s and senator’s photos will appear. Click on each to find their contact information. Make a call and send an email. It will make you feel empowered and caring. It will help save the lives of cougars and their cubs.
Paul Zuckerman, Salt Lake City