Why It Matters: Bobcat populations have steadily increased in the Hoosier State, yet there is not currently a season in place for sportsmen and women to harvest the elusive predator. Active, science-based wildlife management, which often relies on regulated harvest by sportsmen and women, is critical to the continued success of conservation in Indiana.
Highlights:
- Senate Bill 241 would require that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) establish a season to take bobcats.
- Although the season would be statutorily established, the DNR would retain decision-making authority to ensure that season dates, quotas, or other restrictions are appropriate for the most recent data collected on Indiana’s bobcat populations.
- Sportsmen and women play a critical role in conservation and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) will continue to support similar legislation that expands sporting opportunities while retaining state agency authority.
CSF recently submitted written testimony in support of Indiana Senate Bill 241 (SB 241), which would require that the Indiana DNR establish a season to take bobcats while preserving the DNR’s authority to make important decisions surrounding such a season. By using the word “take,” SB 241’s language also reserves discretion to the agency as to whether bobcats, a noteworthy predator, may be harvested during a trapping season, hunting season, or both.
The Indiana DNR, like all state fish and wildlife management agencies, is best suited to establish season dates, harvest quotas, and other restrictions. Staffed with natural resource experts that have the knowledge, experience, and access to ever-changing population data, the DNR can ensure that the passion Hoosiers have for our time-honored sporting traditions are best utilized in managing a predator that has steadily spread across the State. SB 241 protects this authority while increasing opportunities for hunters and trapper in a true win-win for our sporting heritage and science-based management.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation will continue to support legislation like SB 241 across the country by working with legislators and agency officials to ensure that enacted policies bring continued benefit to hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and trappers.
