Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department has scored big with many hunters and landowners, by creating new regulations that would allow an unlimited number of mountain lions to be taken in one area of the Black Hills.
This new regulation is one of many proposals officials suggested after fielding complaints about lion numbers and their potential impact on livestock and public safety. The dwindling deer population is another indicator that the mountain lion numbers are too high.
WGFD plans to add a third hunting area, Hunt Area 32 near Hulett, which will have no bag limit during hunting season. The other hunting areas are changing quotas and sizes in hopes of satisfactorily managing the mountain lion population.
Most Wyoming residents were happy with the proposed changes, however there are some opponents. “It’s counterproductive to be killing large cougars and trophy cougars,” Cougar Fund co-founder Tom Mangelsen told the Star Tribune. “In reality, it will exacerbate the problem and create juvenile delinquents.”
Whether these changes will have a positive effect or not is yet to be seen. What do you think?