Utah: Don't Allow Nearly 500 Cougars to be Killed for Trophies

by: Maria Roberts
recipient: Utah Governor Gary Herbert; Greg Sheehan, Director, UT Division of Wildlife Resources

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources gave a huge gift to trophy hunters seeking to kill a cougar. They voted to allow an INCREASE in the permitted death-toll, ignoring the science presented by the conservation community which argued for a 25% decrease in past permits.

URGENT: We will be delivering this petition to the UDWR at their Sept. 1, 2016 meeting -- Add your voice and help us spread the word ASAP.

While the best science calls for less killings, they disregard the fact that many kittens will be left to starve because their mothers will have been killed, or that juvenile cougars will grow up without learning proper hunting behavior, which may actually increase livestock and pet predation by cougars.

The new cougar “management plan” locks in hunting levels that the Humane Society argues is nearly twice the sustainable rate.

Sign the petition and tell the Governor and the Director of the Division of Wildlife that you are opposed to ANY management that prioritizes killing big cats instead of protecting stable and sustainable wildlife populations!

Read more about the decision here.

read petition letter ▾

We are very concerned that the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources just gave a huge gift to trophy hunters seeking to kill a cougar by voting to allow an increase in hunting permits, ignoring the science presented by the conservation community which argued for a 25% decrease in past permits.

While the best science calls for less killings, the DWR disregarded the fact that many kittens will be left to starve because their mothers will have been killed, or that juvenile cougars will grow up without learning proper hunting behavior, which may actually increase livestock and pet predation by cougars.

Additionally, your new cougar management plan locks in hunting levels that the Humane Society argues are nearly twice the sustainable rate.

Please send this plan back to the drawing board, and develop a cougar management plan that prioritizes stable and sustainable wildlife populations, not big-game trophies.

Update #58 years ago

URGENT: We are delivering your petition to the Division of Wildlife Resources at their next meeting - Sept. 1. Help us hit 50,000 signatures and share the petition with your friends and family! In SLC? Join us! 9:00 AM, DNR Board Room, 1594 W. North Temple, SLC

Update #48 years ago

Thanks for increased support from Utah! Cougars are essential to the greater bio-diversity. Utah has killed 8000+ coyotes last year, paid $50 per kill! Irresponsible management of predators destroys the balance of ecology. Cougars protect their young, teach to hunt appropriate prey; and avoid human interaction. Yet cougars are the focus of ‘sport hunting’, a "recreation" provided by financially dependent agencies (Department of Wildlife Resources) to a mere minority of people.

Update #38 years ago

Cougars are hunted by tracking at the first snow with dogs that make cougar climb a trea. The cougar is then shot and killed by the trophy hunter. Another cougar was shot on January 3 wo2016 when he killed a dog and injured another because the negligent owners let them roam free at night. The cougar was simply fighting to exist.

Update #29 years ago

WA's Gov just stood up for cougars! We need your help to make it happen in UT, too! Click to share the petition on Facebook, and twitter. Can we hit 50K signatures? We need your voice to protect voiceless wildlife from trophy hunters and trigger-happy ranchers! Urge the Governor to demand a science-based management plan.

Update #19 years ago

Brian Perkes said: "I was one of two members on the Utah Cougar advisory board to the Utah DWR. Despite peer reviewed study after study showing recent evidence that Utah is grossly over harvesting these animals, the state is blatantly ignoring the latest science. This is nothing short of theft from the citizens of Utah and the US . Trophy hunting should be outlawed, recent studies show the majority of the population is against it. Cougar numbers are much closer to 1800-2200."

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Utah: Don't Allow Nearly 500 Cougars to be Killed for Trophies