According to Sarah Bowman’s Jan. 17 IndyStar article, there is another attempt to allow hunting and trapping of Indiana’s bobcats via proposed Senate Bill 241. I thought, “What, again?”

Please, raise your hand if you have ever seen a bobcat. What is it about people feeling the need to hunt these native predators that decided on their own to return to Indiana? The Department of Natural Resources should not be making any decision on this subject without first conducting an “official study” that would allow enough time to determine what the actual population count is of the bobcats that live in the prospective hunting areas.

Currently, one of the ways the DNR has counted them is by the number of sightings reported by John Q Citizen. Not very scientific.

Maybe someone claims a sighting because they know the more that are “seen” the more likely a hunting season will open. What about the person that thinks they see one, but really aren’t sure? Could be mistaken, right? Is that report counted by the DNR as a sighting? Then, sadly, one gets hit by a car and killed. Does the DNR assume that because it was crossing a road, there are too many in the area?

In 2019, the DNR told the IndyStar there was not enough scientific data to support a sustainable bobcat season. Since then, has the DNR been conducting a study to determine the actual number of bobcats and where they live? Because bobcats are elusive, this may be a difficult task. The idea of an open hunting/trapping season is absurd. Bobcats are the only natural predators in our state. They need to be here to do what they are meant to do.

They have been welcomed back and are now at risk of being hunted rather than being the hunter. The point is this: Indiana is not likely overrun with bobcats. It is not too late to let your legislators know that, without results from a complete and fair study done by the DNR, that no killing or trapping should take place.

Nancy Tatum

Carmel

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana bobcat hunting: Why I oppose Senate Bill 241