Texas Lets Hunters Kill More Mountain Lions

For the first time in 50 years, Texas updates mountain lion hunting/trapping rules

"If there’s one thing that Texans can agree on, it’s that the symbol of wildness in our state, the mountain lion, shouldn’t be left in traps for days or weeks on end until they die from dehydration and exposure." - Texans for Mountain Lions coalition member and wildlife filmmaker Ben Masters

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has banned canned hunting of mountain lions and implemented new trapping rules, marking a move toward modern wildlife management. The decision, made on May 23, followed public comments that largely supported the changes, with over 91% of 7,531 comments in favor.

Canned Hunting and Trapping

• Canned hunting: Capturing and releasing a mountain lion for hunting, often with hounds, in a confined, fenced area.
• Inhumane practices: Mountain lions trapped and left to perish.
• New rule: TPWD Commission adopted a 36-hr trapping standard. No live animals in traps/snares longer than 36 hrs.
• Exemption: Snares set vertically with a loop size of 10 inches or less are exempt from the 36-hr rule.

Mountain Lion Population in Texas

Mountain lions are found in Trans-Pecos, South Texas brushlands, and western Hill Country. Population estimates vary from a few hundred to ~7,000. Texas is the only state with mountain lion breeding populations that lacked protections for the species, until now.

Mountain Lion Attacks in Texas

No recorded deaths by mountain lions in Texas have been substantiated. Attacks are rare, with only eight occurrences in over 70 years in Big Bend National Park.

Sources:

• TPWD: https://www.tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/management/mountain_lion/
• The Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2021/09/23/authorities-say-a-hood-county-man-was-killed-by-a-cougar-texas-wildlife-experts-say-its-impossible/