Bend Bulletin Editorial: Don’t give counties cougar authority
The Bend Bulletin editorial board has hit the nail on the head: Oregon counties should not have the authority to regulate hound hunting.
In 1994, Oregon voters passed Measure 18 – a ban on hound hunting of cougars and bears – by a two-thirds majority. Now, Senate bills 126 and 453 and House bills 2050 and 2181 seek to overthrow the will of that majority and allow Oregon counties to regulate hound hunting.
The Cougar Fund strongly opposes all of these here). Simply put, there is no need for hound hunting in Oregon. Annual cougar harvest is currently higher than it was twenty years ago when hounds were still allowed, license sales are at an all time high, and complaints/depredations have also dropped significantly. ODFW has a functioning system in place to deal with cougar complaints and problem cats.
bills (You can read our comments on HB 2050 & 2181To read the full Bend Bulletin editorial, click here.