The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has proposed a
$2.1 million “study” that would involve killing cougars in two
areas of Oregon using inhumane methods such as hound
hunting. The project would ostensibly study the effects of
cougar predation on elk and mule deer over a five-year
period. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has proposed funding 75%
of this study, and is seeking comments on its Environmental
Assessment.
Please tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to fund this
wasteful and cruel project. Comments must be received by
February 19, 2001. Write to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Division of Federal Aid
911 NE 11th Avenue
Portland, OR 97232-4181
Fax: 503-231-6996
The Environmental Assessment is available at
www.r1.fws.gov/news/odfwea.pdf or by calling 503-231-6128.
You may wish to make the following points in your letters:
- This project is predator control disguised as scientificresearch. We should not allow trophy hunters or
wildlife agency officials to use the label of research to
hide their anti-predator biases.
- The study flies in the face of the will of Oregonians. In1994 and again in 1996, Oregon voters overwhelmingly
decided to ban cruel practices such as the hunting of
cougars with radio-collared dogs.
- Predators are important animals in any ecosystem.Cougars provide ecological values to an ecosystem
well beyond any adverse impacts they may have on
humans, livestock, and other wildlife species.
The killing of cougars will likely result in an increase in
smaller predators who may cause even greater
impacts to human interests.
- If elk and mule deer populations are declining, it ismore likely due to factors such as climatic change,
disease, habitat loss or fragmentation, or increased
human use of the area, rather than due to cougar
predation. Killing cougars may be psychologically
soothing to hunters and the wildlife agency, but it will
not increase big game populations.
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