Let the Bobcats Roam

From the June 4, 2015, Chicago Tribune editorial.

Last weekend, the Illinois House just barely had enough votes to lift Illinois' longtime ban on hunting bobcats.  One of them even compared one of these small, 30-40 pound, creatures ion his backyard to a sabertoothed tiger.

There was fear from another that a small child or woman might get carried off by one.

People hunt them for their prize pelts as a trophy, not to eat the meat.

Illinois banned bobcat hunting in 1971\2 because their population had almost been wiped out by habitat changes and overhunting.  Since then, their population has rebounded to about 5,000.  last yea Gov. Quinn wisely vetoed a bill to reinstate hunting.  Now, it is up to Gov. Rauner to do the same.

--RoadCat