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Mountain lions nonetheless roam elements of Texas as one of many state’s final remaining native carnivores. On Sept. 1, Texas for the primary time will ban canned mountain lion hunts, which conservationists hope will forestall mistreatment of the rarely-sighted predators.
The brand new guidelines, which take impact with the beginning of the brand new searching license cycle, additionally require trappers to examine their traps each 36 hours if they aim mountain lions.
Richard Heilbrun, the wildlife range program director on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division, mentioned the proposal was the results of a collaboration by landowners, ranchers, livestock homeowners, conservationists and biologists. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Fee authorized it in Might.
Violating the brand new guidelines is a Class C misdemeanor, which may end up in a high-quality of as much as $500 however no jail time.
Texas for Mountain Lions, a conservation group based in 2021, mentioned their 2022 petition, which collected 2,356 signatures and known as for learning and defending the animals, kick began conversations in regards to the new guidelines.
That petition didn’t achieve traction on the time instantly. However when the company accepted public remark in regards to the proposed guidelines earlier this yr, greater than 90% of the roughly 7,000 feedback have been constructive.
Nonetheless, the Texas Farm Bureau, which represents tons of of 1000’s of the state’s farmers, opposed the brand new guidelines: “This will have a particularly devastating impact on ranches in West Texas where mountain lions are much more prevalent,” the group mentioned.
Texas mountain lions are discovered all through the trans-Pecos area in West Texas, in addition to the brushlands of South Texas and generally within the Hill Nation. Texas Parks and Wildlife officers mentioned there have additionally been sightings within the Dallas-Fort-Price space and the Panhandle in current a long time. Sport cameras and personal safety cameras catch a glimpse of the predators occasionally.
On the Texas-Mexico border in Val Verde County, which had probably the most confirmed mountain lion sightings over the previous 5 years, Sport Warden Marco Alvizo shouldn’t be anticipating the brand new guidelines to drastically change current searching practices.
“Trappers are already checking traps on a regular basis,” he mentioned, “and canned hunting is really not that big of an issue.”
Warren Cude, a Farm Bureau member and Fort Stockton-based rancher, raises calves and sheep and mentioned quite a few mountain lions cross by the world yearly and their numbers have grown.
Cude mentioned he has to seek out mountain lions once they begin preying on his livestock; as soon as he mentioned he misplaced near 80 sheep over three months to a lion. Every animal represented a $300 loss, he mentioned. And whereas some states like Montana or Washington reimburse ranchers for predator-caused livestock loss, Texas doesn’t.
Heilbrun mentioned the brand new guidelines gained’t forestall landowners from taking pictures animals which can be killing livestock.
“Hunters can still harvest a lion, landowners with conflict situations can still take action against it,” he mentioned.
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As apex predators, mountain lions are essential for the well being of your complete ecosystem.
Credit score:
Courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife
Cude mentioned he’s in favor of the brand new ban on canned hunts, wherein mountain lions are trapped, then launched later in an enclosed space the place to be hunted.
Cude mentioned the brand new laws on checking traps each 36 hours shall be a burden that would flip checking traps on his 20,000-acre ranch right into a full-time job.
“It becomes something you can’t do when you have thousands of acres,” he mentioned.
The principles apply solely to giant vertical snares used to entice mountain lions — smaller snares meant for coyotes are exempted. However Cude mentioned giant snares used to catch feral hogs would additionally fall underneath the 36-hour rule.
Heilbrun, the Texas Parks and Wildlife official, mentioned there are different methods to regulate feral hogs,” and most of them are more practical than inserting unbaited snares on fences. When hogs are caught in snares on fences, they typically destroy the fence, and open up gaps to livestock.”
In most different U.S. states, searching mountain lions is intently monitored — there’s a particular searching season and solely a sure variety of animals may be taken every year. Texas has not restricted searching of mountain lions, nevertheless.
“Texas is fairly unique in how we manage lions,” Heilbrun mentioned.
Conservationist Brent Lyles, a biologist and on the nationwide Mountain Lion Basis calls the brand new laws a “modest first step toward common sense”.
Lyles mentioned mountain lions are apex predators which can be essential for the well being of your complete ecosystem by controlling the inhabitants of species like deer and stopping their numbers from skyrocketing. Typically mountain lions goal weakened animals, which retains herds wholesome. Additionally they depart behind carcasses that change into meals for birds, bugs and different mammals.
For a report revealed earlier this yr, the Borderlands Analysis Institute adopted 16 tagged mountain lions within the Davis Mountains utilizing GPS information and located that they preyed on deer, elk, feral hogs and javelina. “Importantly, livestock (e.g., domestic cattle and horses) were available in the study area yet were never preyed upon,” the report mentioned.
Lyles calls it a “persistent myth” that searching mountain lions will lower conflicts between landowners and lions.
“More and more research is showing that killing established lions creates social chaos among the lions in the territory,” he mentioned, including that landowners can use non-lethal strategies to guard livestock together with flashing lights, AM radios taking part in voices or bringing animals into stables in the course of the evening.
Lyles mentioned there’s nonetheless not sufficient strong details about Texas mountain lions.
“Much more data is needed to understand how many mountain lions are out there,” he mentioned. “What are their needs? What are their habitats?”
Disclosure: Texas Farm Bureau and Texas Parks And Wildlife Division have been monetary supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partially by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full record of them right here.
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