Hunting Cougars

The move by several legislators backed by the National Rifle Assn. to repeal Proposition 117 and to institute a trophy hunting season on cougars is naive and misguided (“Bill Seeks to Remove Some Protection for Cougars,” Jan. 13). Proposition 117, as approved in 1990, contains a provision that allows for the elimination of problem cougars. The ballot initiative merely stops cougar killing by trophy hunters.

Since 1890, there have been only 13 fatal cougar attacks and 55 nonfatal attacks on people in North America. For every person killed by a cougar, there have been 1,317 people killed by lightning, 333 people killed by bees and 1,200 people killed in hunting accidents. The reality is, cougars pose a very limited threat to humans, especially when compared with other hazards.

What’s more, there is no evidence indicating that hunting does anything to mitigate the already remote threat of a cougar attack on a person. To the contrary, trophy hunting may increase that threat.

The proposal by legislators working on behalf of the hunting lobby will not advance public safety, but will only enhance hunter recreation. It should be decisively rejected.

WAYNE PACELLE, Vice President

Government Affairs and Media

Humane Society, Washington