In Idaho and Wyoming it’s wolves, but in Oregon the state legislature has focused on cougars (oh, they’ll do that in Idaho too, soon enough).
Here is the sad story as told by George Wuerthner. Oregon’s Cougar Slaughter: A Return to the Dark Ages. New West.
Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildfire is using the same tactics as the anti-wolf forces . . . Oh my God, you are going to be killed!
Will these people stop it!!? They tell us to fear terrorists, fear wildlife, keep the kids indoors because there is a sexual predator on every street corner, drug dealers are everywhere. So stay home, shut up, let us handle it.
Oh, and while you’re indoors, safe from exercise and fresh air, be sure to worry about getting fat.
Note: People asked if the governor of Oregon signed this into law. Yes he did. He is a Democrat, and he has also supported letting the timber industry kill thousands of bears because they damage young conifers on the tree farms of the Oregon timber industry.
Update July 26: Wyoming wants to increase its cougar “harvest.” Jackson Hole News and Guide. State raises hunting pressure on Wyo. cats. Cougar Fund says Teton County hunting quotas are not based on science.