Wahington State Cougars Need Help!

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SOURCE: ANIMAL PROTECTION INSTITUTE

http://apiforanimals.org/default.asp?ID=784

 

LETTERS MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 8, 2000

 

BACKGROUND:

 

In November 1996, the citizens of Washington State passed Initiative 655

by a landslide 63% majority vote, thereby banning the unfair and

unsporting practices of bear baiting and hound hunting of bears,

cougars, and bobcats. Hound hunting allows trophy hunters to use packs

of radio-collared dogs to chase and " tree " bears, cougars, and bobcats

and then shoot them at point-blank range.

 

By passing Initiative 655, Washington voters agreed to continue to allow

the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) the use of dogs

to hunt individual problem bears and cougars, but very decisively

proclaimed that the use of dogs for sport hunting of these animals is

not acceptable.

 

Just two years after passage of I-655, Washington State legislators

began a concerted effort to weaken or overturn the initiative. In

response to media hype about " dangerous cougars, " pressure from the

hound hunting community, and shameless lobbying by the WDFW, SSB 5001

was passed during the 2000 legislative session.

 

Touted as a " public safety measure, " SSB 5001 allows the WDFW to issue

permits for hound hunters to hunt cougars in areas where there are

perceived problems. In other words, the hill essentially allows for a

return to the practice of using hounds for sport hunting of cougars,

even though the WDFW insisted that its plan for implementation of the

bill would not let this happen.

 

The WDFW's proposed regulation for implementation of SSB 5001 would

determine the hunt areas and kill quotas one year in advance and allows

for issuing hunt permits through a lottery-type system. The proposed

rule also call for the killing of 68 cougars in the first year. Under

the rule, hunters would be allowed to keep the hide of any cougar

killed, use a professional guide service, have an unlimited number

of " observers " of each hunt, and hunt cougar up to 22 miles beyond any

perceived " problem " area.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

 

Write to:

The Honorable Gary Locke

Office of the Governor

Legislative Building

PO Box 40002

Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Governor.Locke

 

RE: Please don't undermine Citizen Initiative 655 by Supporting SSB 5001.

 

Dear Governor Locke:

 

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding your support of SSB

5001. I feel this seriously undermines citizen Initiative 655 and that

WDFW's proposed " public safety cougar removal " plan violates the intent

of the legislation. WDFW's plan will not alleviate the perceived

" cougar problems " in Washington. Prominent cougar biologists

definitively state that cougar hunting, with or without hounds, does

not decrease the chance of human-cougar interactions. The proposed

cougar-hunting season will run from December 16 through March 15.

Allowing adult cougars to be killed in early spring when cougar kittens

may be nursing is unethical.

 

I look forward to hearing that you have chosen to not to endorse SSB 5001 in

order to preserve Washington State's ecosystem.

 

Sincerely,

 

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