Illinois hunters target bobcats
Bobcats will not be protected in Illinois, after Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a law Tuesday. Illinois hunters will target bobcats beginning next year. This is over the express objections of tens of thousands of Illinoisans and wildlife lovers who wrote the governor asking him to veto the bill.
It’s a slap in the face to the 75% of Illinois voters who said, in a poll, that they think bobcat hunting is cruel and unusual. And they ignored the ads (like the one on the right) that thousands of Environmental Action members chipped in to run in local papers.
We’re so deeply disappointed that Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed into a law a controversial bill that allows the hunting of bobcats in Illinois. This shy and elusive animal is being put in the crosshairs by trophy-hunters.
The law takes effect on Jan. 1, and it will allow the hunting and trapping of the animals to occur during a four month period. The bobcat was removed from the protected species list in 1999 after being placed on the list in 1972 due to hunting and habitat destruction decreasing their numbers. A similar bill was vetoed by Pat Quinn in 2014.