These three cougar kittens were orphaned by a hunter in Idaho 2005, Big Cat Rescue provided them with a home for the rest of their lives. Do you think hunting of this cat should be legal???
No I don't think so. It's not like they're overpopulated and they also are key to keeping a balance in eco-systems.
I definately don't think so; after centuries of persecution, it's high time they're left alone. Thank you for sharing these videos, I'm a big supporter of Big Cat Rescue.
There is a theory - called the Big Tom Theory - that hunting pumas actually increases conflicts between people and pumas. If true, it might be reason enough to ban hunting. Here is the theory. In areas where pumas are not persecuted by people, it is a fact that the number one cause of mortality among young pumas (at least males) is being killed by a resident male puma. These resident males, or big toms (a tom is a male cat - as in the cartoon Tom & Jerry), are cats that have survived and established a territory because they are secretive enough to learn to avoid people. Hunters, however, usually go for a Big Tom as a prize. So when one is taken out, the inexperienced young males thrive and often get themselves into trouble with people. If the Big Toms were left in place and not hunted, they would take care of the young males that are not secretive enough (the kind that usually get curious and enter human areas) and only the really secretive shy ones would survive to adulthood. Something to think about.
I generally dislike the hunting of predators. That said, if an animal becomes a problem, ie bears getting accustomed to eating trash and entering residential area, or a rogue cat that's a comfirmed killer, then euthanasia should be at least and option. We had a bear attack here in Kentucky three weeks ago. A small black bear mauled a hiker while the hiker just stood there and photographed it. Fish and Wildlife immediately set out bear traps full of donuts and honey buns to trap and euthanize the animal. I dislike this course of action. There are few bears in the state and this one was in a remote National Forest. He wasn't invasive, as in coming into a yard to menace human residents. I hope they never find him, and I hope they don't just go about shooting the first bear they find.
ANew Scientist issue had an article about s similar issue with the hunting of wolves. Constant hunting of wolves breaks up packs as it is usually the older, experienced alpha animals that are shot. The remaining animals are lyounger inexperienced and less well built animals that go after targets that are easier for them to catch, sheep or cattle, rather than the harder to get moose and elk which is the favoured prey of undisturbed wolf packs. This is still a theory but evidence is building for it.
