What Should the G&F and Wildlife Dept's. do with Problem Cat

[Brent Sinclair]

It seems more lions are being killed every year by landowners or by G&F as problem wildlife.
The carcasses are given to universities or where they can be used but many are stored for way to long in Government freezers that no one wants and these I am sure are wasted?
Would it not be a benifite to everyone if the authorities were to let a problem lion be taken by someone that has paid the Dept. for a hunting license but did not fill that tag due to quota or season closure, or by youth hunters who would never be able to afford a hunt???
These problem cats are going to be distroyed in many cases and it seems a total waste.
Sometimes the lion is a big mature male , a subadult like this one living in a farmers garage or like this emaciated female that is worthless as a trophy, what ever the situation I think there is a far better way to deal with them than is currently being done in most states or proviances.

Lets have some ideas and opinions.....

[M Evertsen]

From what I understand, the lions that are taken by Wildlife Services are salvaged, and the hides are sold at the Annual Fur Sale in Fallon. Not sure what happens with the skulls.

Later,

Marcial

[wwsmokeydo]

i know that here in some cases publice houndsmen were used to get rid of problem cats. the case was our local goverment houndmen was not available so a cop called a buddy of his and had him take care of it. in the end the carcass hide skull and all were given to the hunter. because he was not working for the goverment they did not want too do a ton of paper work for it. so that was the easy solution for them needless to say he killed a 172 LB tom.

[houndnem]

have they tried relocation with any success? I know I have had stray house cats come around my house. i trap em in a live trap, give em a little scare and let em go. Never seen one come back. I would think if you caught a lion and freaked him out a little bit then turned him loose in some extreme back county with plenty of feed they wouldn't come back.

[bency]

Youth hunters sounds like a great idea for these certain cats.

[Kevin D]

have they tried relocation with any success?

You gotta remember who it is that calls all the shots in Utah houndnem. Can you imagine the outraged reaction among deer hunters and the SFW if they found out that even one dime of Division money was being spent trying to rehab problem lions?? Guarantee heads would roll.

You are not going to find this in any Division publication, but Utah DWR policy is to dispatch and dispose of any problem cats. I have a close friend that is a DWR biologist and he has told me that when they are called out on an urban lion, orphaned cubs, or whatever, they tranquilize it, smile for any cameras rolling, thank all the concerned citizens, load it into their trucks, then drive it up behind some locked gates and shoot it.

So to answer your question, no they haven't.

[Mike Leonard]

New Mexico usually tries to tranquilize and move the animal if the offense is not worthy of the death penaty. We have found however relocation of lions is not very successful. Cats have one of the strongest homing instincts of all mammals. I am sure you have all heard the Paul Harvey stories of housecats coming home from hundreds of miles away, well lions are no different only they can travel a lot faster. Some cats from southern New Mexico's Guadalupe Range were transported to the high mountaina in extreme northen New Mexico by Raton. Some of these lions almost beat the biologist back to the Guadalupes. I mean they headed south right away, crossing interstates thru urban areas. Some didn't make it all the way and were killed on highways or took of residence in quant Toas most likley enjoing the local fauna and the art work ofcourse. LOL!

I have given some of our local alley cats a long and very scary experience and ride, and usually if they didn't get mashed on the highway they were back kicking the housecat's butt of his evening meal in a few days. So it does not work well.

When one has to be killed generally the State issues a kill permit and a District Officier is suppose to accompany the hound man and dispatch the animal. Upon removal of DNA sample and Pre-Molar usuall they will offer the animal to you if you make a donation to the State. In working with problem lions on Indian Resevations usually it is much less complicated and they animal is eliminated. Generally most Native Americans will ask for some of the animal's parts including the fat which is used in traditional ceremonies.

[islandhunter]

sounds like a good hunt for a youth or someone who isn't very mobile.

[007pennpal]

Africa has some real examples of how to get the most out of problem animals. They even issued a sports tage to kill a lion that had eaten three small children. The successful sportsman was carried around the village as a hero.
Sean

[Big Mike]

The idea of offering a public hunt for depredations animals is good in theory but just not practical. In NM when a lion kills livestock it just signed its death certificate, no option of relocating. Its spelled out clearly in law. Most states probably have a simular law or policy. When a lion kills a calf you have one or two nights to catch the lion. After that carcass ussually spoils and cat doesnt return. There isnt time to call a hunter arrange time for them to get there then go hunt it. It is just not feasible in most cases.

In NM all carcasses taken on depredation are sold to the public immediately so they can be salvaged if possible.

[bowhound]

in Wyoming the state cannot benefit financially from a depredation lion, so they don't sell any parts or a tag for it, basically do nothing to attempt any kind of salvage, most get thrown in the landfill .... makes me sick.

[007pennpal]

I'm tellin ya guys Africa has a system. Professional hunters on call with steady supply of sport hunters who are willing to pay. They can have a hunter on it within hours. They are paying big bucks too. Proper planning, it could be done. Call list or something.
Sean