Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Sunday, March 11, 2018
(MITCHELL) - There will be a public hearing on Department of Natural Resource Fish & Wildlife rules amendment proposals at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 14th, at Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, and at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, at Mounds State Park in Anderson.
Public comment can also be submitted online at nrc.IN.gov/2377.htm
Managers with the Department of Natural Resources are proposing a new bobcat season in Indiana. The proposal would establish quotas and bag limits.
According to information on the DNR website, bobcat hunting "would be limited to counties that support strong, self-sustaining bobcat populations." While those areas have not yet been specified, the website said their location would likely be limited to southern Indiana.
A limit of one bobcat per licensed hunter or trapper would be enforced as would a season limit on the total number of bobcats harvested throughout all of the counties that would be part of the proposed bobcat season.
If passed, the bobcat season would run from early November to the end of January, unless the quota was met. In that case, the season would end early.
November 2019 is the soonest a bobcat season would arrive in the state.
The state removed the bobcat from the endangered species list in 2005, and wildlife officials say their numbers have been growing ever since.
Animal activists say there's no need to target the cats simply for sport.
Information on the DNR website shows that the department receives few reports of bobcats being a nuisance or causing damage and the proposal to have a limited season does not come in response to complaints or conflicts with the animals. Conflicts between bobcats and livestock are rare, and to date, the DNR has not received a verified account of a bobcat injuring a pet.
The Natural Resources Commission is accepting public comment until March 23 on rule changes that would allow hunting and trapping.
Hunters and trappers are harvesting bobcats in Illinois. During the last hunting season 318 bobcats were taken.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Spokesperson Ed Cross says this was the second season since bobcat hunting was reinstated in 2016.
141 bobcats were taken during last year's hunting season.
The rules will change each year based on the state's bobcat population. The harvest limit for the 2018-2019 season will be 375 bobcats.
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