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Urgent!! PLEASE HELP SAVE OHIO BOBCATS!Ohio Division of Wildlife (DOW) is proposing bobcat trap-kill seasons in two SE Ohio regions. The decision will be made May 9 by the Ohio Wildlife Council, eight politically appointed hunter-trappers. There are no wildlife biologists on the council. There is only one public hearing, on April 23 at 2 pm in north Columbus. The species was de-listed from the threatened and endangered list less than four years ago, and some scientists question the basis for delisting. There is no science to support the trap-kill proposal. An unlimited number of permits will sell for $5. Bobcat fur coats sell for $150,000 in Russia and China. DOW stated only three months ago that Ohio’s bobcat population’s “viability is unclear…Little is known about the density and distribution of bobcats in Ohio, as well as the population trajectory, and which areas act as source populations. Such information is critical before decisions are taken on opening a trapping season and the maximum yearly take.” The plan is irresponsible, scientifically unsound, and barbaric. It must be opposed. ACTION STEPS:1.?Comment/submit testimony by 5 pm, April 23, to DOW (re rule 1501:31-15-17 Seasons for game birds, game quadrupeds and furbearing animals.) by e-mail to Ohio Wildlife Council, Paul Mechling, pres., wildlife.council@dnr.state.oh.us or by snail mail to ODNR DOW Chief, 2045 Morse Rd., Building G, Col. OH 43229, attn.: Chief.2. Attend the public hearing on April 23 (2 pm) or the April 11 Wildlife Council meeting (6:30 pm), 1500 Dublin Rd., Col. Sign up 2 days prior: 614-265-6304 to give 3-minute testimony for the Council meeting. It is not necessary to sign up for the hearing. Dates and more: wildlife.about-contacts/wildlife-council. 3. Call (614-466-3555 or -644-4357) or write* Gov. Kasich. He can stop this and may if enough people protest! *Use online form at governor.Contact/Contact-the-Governor. Don’t do this instead of submitting testimony/comments!4. Sign a petition but only in addition to submitting comments: For OU-affiliated folks: petition/bobcats-for-bobcats.?For everyone:?p/ohio-department-of-natural-resources-prevent-odnr-from-allowing-trapping-of-bobcats. Please share links but ask your friends to comment as well!?5. Ask for additional public hearings in Athens and around the state! Protest confusing messages and misinformation, including that carcasses will be used for research (ask to see a proposal that calls for carcasses!), that the comment period was to be open through March 31 (it closed and the form disappeared by 5 pm even though this was not a “business day” and was not specified, though a 5 pm closing is specified for the April 23 testimony submission deadline), etc.6. Spread the word statewide! Write letters to editors. Visit and share and Save Ohio Bobcats open group fb page. KEY POINTS:Tell the officials there is no science to support this dangerous plan, which can put at risk a species removed from the state’s list of Threatened and Endangered Species less than?4 years ago (and without necessarily having had a sound basis for that action). DOW has stated that “the rate of expansion and the area currently occupied by bobcats, as well as population size are still unknown” and the populations’ “viability is unclear…Little is known about the density and distribution of bobcats in Ohio, as well as the population trajectory, and which areas act as source populations. Such information is critical before decisions are taken on opening a trapping season and the maximum yearly take.” (DOW October 2017 4-year research proposal and budget doc, uploaded at website and fb page; emphasis added) This report indicates it will take FOUR YEARS to collect and analyze data to establish a population viability analysis. Point out that DOW has not provided any valid numbers or science to support the plan. They cite “verified” sightings numbers, which are suspect (DOW hasn’t released data to support these numbers), may reflect multiple sightings of the same animals and may largely be explained by the huge increase in trail cam use (as DOW itself has acknowledged makes it difficult to draw conclusions from this data) and DOW’s active solicitation last November for sightings data, which they may not have classified right (some submitted images were from earlier years – were they rejected or mis-categorized as 2017 data??). They also do not know what percentage of the population is being killed already by vehicles (82 reported in 2107) and by ‘incidental’ trapping (12 reported in 2017). If this is already 20% of the population, which it may be, that would already bring mortality levels to a point at which any additional killing could jeopardize its viability and survival.Ask for additional public hearings in Athens and statewide!!DOW has not provided any evidence that any research proposal in the state requires carcasses. DOW has just funded a 4-year Ohio University study to estimate abundance, density, and viability of populations, which will rely on “non-invasive monitoring” (not carcasses from trap-kills!).?The data is not available now for DOW to move forward as if they know what they’re doing. They don’t! An unlimited number of permits will sell bobcats for $5 and may lead to extreme over-killing, way beyond stated quotas before DOW can effectively stop further trapping.Challenge the legitimacy of the Ohio Wildlife Council hunter-trappers to make this monumental decision. Some have direct ties to the trapping industry and association.Ask for extension of comment period! We WON this. New deadline March 31 but if you miss the deadline, send comments to wildlife.council@dnr.state.oh.us by 5 pm April 23.Expanded talking points, updated:At $5/permit, thousands of traps may be set on opening day. If even a fraction of these catch a bobcat, the quota set (20 in one region and 40 in another) could be surpassed many times over before DOW is notified of the kills (even with an online system) and halts further trapping, which requires effectively notifying every trapper with a trap set. That’s tremendous pressure on a population of unknown size.?Bobcats are not difficult to trap.?Our population will be especially easy, since they are inexperienced and unwary of traps. Proposed season dates mean mothers can be killed and their young orphaned. Kittens can also be killed.The state does not have data on the size of either Ohio’s eastern or southern populations. So-called “verified sightings” do not indicate how many different individuals were seen, as DOW itself states. The recent claimed increase in sightings may be due largely to the new boom in trail cams, as DOW acknowledges. The claimed spike is biologically impossible so is clearly not a real number. DOW’s own research proposal states its lack of data, that it will take FOUR YEARS to collect and analyze data and do a population viability analysis, and that it is “critical” to do this “before” opening a trap season.DOW recently funded an expensive, large, 4-year Ohio University project to develop a population model. The project will use non-invasive monitoring and does not need data from killed bobcats. It has not yet collected or analyzed enough data to estimate population sizes of Ohio’s two bobcat populations.DOW states dead bobcats will be used for science without providing any evidence of any research proposals reliant on these carcasses. The claim seems to be to justify a program to suit trappers and traders. With permits at $5 each, someone can make big bucks, since a coat made of 30 animals sells for up to $150,000 in China and Russia. DOW is supposed to manage bobcats for all Ohioans (per its mission), not just for hunters and trappers, whose consumptive use will deprive the vast majority of Ohioans of their rightful enjoyment and dependence on our top native predator in non-consumptive ways.This is a PUBLIC HEALTH issue. As Lyme disease spreads in Ohio, it is imperative that we protect a major native predator of white-footed mice, a primary vector of Lyme disease, and other rodents. In 2017, at least 82 bobcats were killed by vehicles and another 12 turned in from “incidental” trap-kills. DOW could create a lottery of these pelts, which are recovered at least as quickly as trapped animals. The proposed trap-kill regions are based on supposedly high and low bobcat populations. Although the Noble County population (and surrounding counties–the eastern region) may be large enough to sustain some level of killing without threatening its survival, the rest of Ohio’s population (southern Ohio and scattered pockets across the state) is not yet self-sustaining. Its numbers rely on a steady influx from the eastern population. If the eastern one is reduced too greatly and movement from it curtailed, all Ohio populations could be severely impacted. Biologists don't yet understand how each population is faring or what level of killing would affect them and bobcat survival throughout Ohio. There may be fewer than 500 bobcats in the whole state. Allowing for trap-killing of 40 in one critical region and 20 in a population not reproductively viable, with potentially many more than 40 killed before authorities can halt the killing, is a huge gamble with a species just recovering from extirpation, so complex, poorly understood, and already perhaps being compromised by road kill and “incidental” and illegal trapping. DOW’s own (highly flawed) new Bobcat Management Plan cites research that says mortality rates of over 20% can threaten population viability. Perhaps this level is already being reached! The American Veterinary Medical Association and American Animal Hospital Association have declared the steel-jaw leghold trap inhumane. The animal suffers in a foot-hold and may even eat off its paw in trying to get free and possibly bleed to death. When found, it is hit with a blunt instrument or strangled. Proposed season dates mean mothers can be killed and their young orphaned. Kittens can also be killed.With an unlimited number of traps set, a rapidly met quota may lead DOW and the State Trappers Association (OSTA) to wrongly assume this is evidence of a large population.?The newly published Ohio Bobcat Management Plan (Feb. 2018, after the proposal was announced) relies on old and inappropriate research from remote western populations and misrepresents the scientific literature on road-kill mortality, ignoring Iowa data in favor of 30-year-old remote Idaho data. But even it includes a trap-kill season only as Goal #3 when Goal #1, a viability analysis, has not been done.Hunting and trapping can be a management tool for over-populated species like deer. Bobcats do not overpopulate. Like all wild cats, their populations are self-regulating. Bobcats unlike rabbits cannot take advantage of lowered population to repopulate quickly. Bobcats take 2 years to mature and may only live 5-6 years in the wild, have large home ranges, and have only 2-3 kittens a year. It is much easier to hunt a cat species to extinction than a species that is opportunistic in its breeding habits, like rabbits.Bobcats are not a nuisance species. We don't need to ‘manage’ bobcats. If an individual did cause a problem there are legal tools to manage it without opening a kill season for all bobcats. Join Athens City Council, Nelsonville Council and thousands of citizens, supported by scientists, science, and even some trappers (like Steve Pollick with Ohio Outdoor News, who also cites retired DOW biologist Denis Case speaking against the plan) who are speaking out against this dangerous, ill-conceived proposal.Other rules to comment on:1. 1501:1-31-01 Notice of public rules hearing: public notification via newspapers Proposed: public notification will only happen via website. Comment: delete proposed change. More study and surveys needed. Some SE Ohioans do not have good or even any internet services or are not computer savvy.? People depend on the local paper, the Athens Messenger for legal public notices!2.?1501:31-15-17 Seasons for game birds, game quadrupeds and furbearing ment: p. 1 (B) Return Bobcat to the list that states “It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt or take a bobcat, bear, badger, fisher, porcupine or snowshoe hare at any time.” Delete the following section in its entirety: p.4.(S) It shall be unlawful to trap or possess bobcat at any time except in accordance with this rule, or division 1501:31 of the Administrative Code. (I) Unless otherwise provided for in this rule, bobcat season is open from Nov. 10 through the last day of January.3. 1501:31-15-09 Hunting and trapping regulations for furbearing ment: Delete: p.2 (K) (5)? Bobcat added - …1501:31-15-03 … unlawful for any person at any time to shoot a bobcat, …that is not caught in a trap or snare. p.5? (N) Bobcat regulations:?delete section.4. 1501:31-15-02 General hunting and trapping ment:? delete the following at this time:?p. 4 (X)?added bobcat hunting permit?5. 1501:31-15-12 Management Permits.?Comment: delete (B) There is hereby created a bobcat trapping permit.?6. There are also rule changes on river otters and other matters you may wish to comment on!Thank you! More info at and Save Ohio Bobcats – open group fb page ................
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