HELP US FIGHT TO SAVE UTAH’S MOUNTAIN LIONS

Readers might recall an article in The Wildlife News many months ago about
legislation (HB469) that is now law and that stripped mountain lions of all meaningful protections in Utah. Now lions can be hunted and trapped year-round with no bag limit. Western Wildlife Conservancy and the Mountain Lion Foundation sued, arguing that this violates the state’s “Right to Hunt and Fish constitutional amendment that went into effect on January 1 of 2021. That amendment states that hunting and fishing are subject to reasonable rules and regulations that:
(a) promote wildlife conservation and management;
(b) provide reasonable regulation of hunting and fishing activities; and
(c) preserve the future of hunting and fishing.
We argued that HB469 violates these provisions. It can be counter-argued that the RHF only requires (a), (b) & (c) if a statute or rules and regulations require them, otherwise not. This would save HB469, but at the expense of making the RHF both otiose and silly. Oral arguments were heard by the Utah Supreme Court early last September. We are still waiting for the decision. More recently, in mid-December, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), in collaboration with Brigham Young University (home of the Cougars) began a 3-year experimental project of intensively culling mountain lions in six of the state’s hunting units: Zion, Pine Valley, Boulder, Monroe, Wasatch East, and Stansbury. The preferred killing method is the lethal neck snare, which tightens around an animal’s neck as it attempts to pull itself free. The death is not quick and is undoubtedly painful.
The stated purpose of this experiment, which was initiated with little public notice or review, is to see how the resident mule deer populations respond to greatly reduced mountain lion predation—more specifically, to see if it results in more mule deer RAC, Board meeting agendas, materials & minutes.
As word about the project spread people became concerned. At the Wildlife Board meeting on January 8 public comment was heard. I was among those who commented. By my informal count, the comments ran close to 3:1 in opposition to the project with over two dozen people commenting.
We have ethical rules or guidelines in the practice of medicine, in animal research, and with respect to the treatment of pets and farm animals. And for good reason. Other animals are sentient creatures, just as we are. Why then, are there no ethical guidelines for wildlife management? There are some regulations limiting kinds of weapons permitted and the use of drones and trail cameras that give hunters an added advantage over their quarry, intended to retain the sporting aspect of hunting, but that is all.
State wildlife agencies, including the UDWR, claim to manage wildlife by something called the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. One of the tenets of the model is “Wildlife can only be killed for a legitimate, non-frivolous purpose.” North American Model of Wildlife Conservation :: Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Is killing as many mountain lions as possible to see whether it results in more deer a legitimate, non-frivolous purpose? In my judgment, it is not. And what if the program is extended to other parts of the state and for many additional years? Why would there be an interest in undertaking this project in the first place if there is no interest in that prospect?

Another tenet of the North American Model is, “Wildlife is to be managed as a public trust.” It is certainly arguable that this project violates the public trust. Mountain lions are hardly likely to be entirely wiped out, but is that all that matters? What about the loss of life of the individual lions that are killed, on the orphaned kittens who will surely die, and on the social structure of the remaining population? Research on the effects of extreme killing of mountain lions have shown that the remaining population skews young, and that it is the young and inexperienced lions that account for the majority of conflicts with humans—things such as predation on pets and farm animals, and even attacks on humans.
There have already been many studies of the effects of predation on deer, all concluding that predation is rarely a significant factor in affecting the size of populations. Most of the time it just reduces the number of animals that die from other natural causes (such as starvation and disease but not counting hunting). The effect is healthier deer and herd sizes within the carrying capacity of the habitat. The purpose of this particular study seems to be to take the culling of mountain lions to the extreme to see if it will result in a relatively few additional mule deer for hunters.

Calculations made in the 1990s by ecologist John Carter, PhD and reported to UDWR at a regional wildlife management advisory council meeting show that livestock
grazing on public lands and forests in Utah consume an amount of forage equivalent to
what would support 2 million deer or 400 thousand elk. Today there are roughly 295,000 deer Want to help increase Utah's deer population? Bring your ideas to upcoming DWR meetings and 85,000 elk. Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan If the state wants to grow more deer and elk for hunters, it might focus on finding ways to reduce public land livestock grazing in the state instead of waging a cruel war on native mountain lions in total disregard of the resulting damage to ecosystems.

It is not clear to me whether a win on HB469 would make this project illegal since it is a “research project” and not a hunting proclamation. We need to get it terminated People can tell the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources director, and the chair of the Utah Wildlife Board what they think about this project using the following email addresses. My advice: keep it simple, to the point and not abusive. Also, the problem is not that these guys are ignorant of the science, but that they ignore questions of ethics. I suggest emphasizing this failure.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Director Riley Peck: rileypeck@utah.gov
Utah Wildlife Board Chair, Gary Nielson: gnielson.board@gmail.com

Kirk Robinson, PhD, JD, Founder and Executive Director