Update (July 14, 2015): Unfortunately, Governor Rauner signed this bill into law.
Bill Description:
It removes the prohibition on killing bobcats in Illinois. It establishes that there will be an annual open season during which people may trap or hunt bobcats with a gun, dog, or bow and arrow. One bobcat may be killed per permit per season.[teaserbreak]
Background:
Bobcat numbers plummeted a century ago due to commercial and agricultural development, and the species was almost eliminated by the mid-1900s. Illinois banned the hunting of bobcats in 1972, and they were listed as a threatened species list from 1977 to 1999. While their numbers have rebounded thanks to these protections, their recovery is far from over.
Increasing hunting opportunities could severely impact the state’s fragile bobcat population. Crucial conservation efforts that brought bobcats back from the brink of extinction will be quickly undone if a hunting season is reinstated. It is risky and irresponsible to play guessing games with hunting quotas when the bobcat population has shown in the past that it cannot sustain such abuse.
Furthermore, the use of dogs to hunt bobcats is a particularly savage method of hunting. “Hounding” involves attaching radio collars to dogs so hunters can monitor their movements as they track wildlife. The dogs chase the wild animal for hours until, exhausted and confused, the prey is cornered or gives up. The hunter, trailing behind, shoots the trapped animal. This also endangers the dogs, who can suffer terrible injuries when fearful animals strike back. When injured and no longer able to hunt, the dogs are sometimes simply abandoned.
Trapping, too, is a barbaric, antiquated form of hunting. Animals caught in traps suffer immensely from their injuries, long periods of distress, and ultimately die an excruciating death. Many even gnaw off their own limbs in an effort to escape, often dying of a painful infection days later. Archaic killing methods for trapped animals – such as suffocation, drowning and chest crushing – are widely used today. Read more on our trapping page.
Many other animals are injured by traps or die as “collateral damage,” including endangered species and family pets. In 2011 in Geneva, a husky/collie mix nearly choked to death in a steel snare trap during a walk with his owner. Also in 2011, outside of Chicago, a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix named Marley got three of her paws caught in traps and nearly lost her life. She survived, unable to move, until she was found by hunters on the fifth day. (See our Trapping Incidents Database for more information.) Even one such tragedy is too many, and these types of incidents are sadly all too common.
This bill was introduced last session as H.B. 4226; it passed both chambers but was vetoed by Governor Quinn.
Take Action:
Illinois residents, email Governor Rauner and tell him you’re disappointed in his decision to sign the bill!
Read the full text here for H.B. 352, here for H.B. 490, and here for the Senate version.