Quinn vetoes bill to allow bobcat hunting in Illinois

CHICAGO (AP) - Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday vetoed a bill to allow bobcat hunting in Illinois for the first time in more than 40 years, saying the small, nocturnal cats "continue to need protection" even though they have been removed from the threatened species list.

Quinn issued a brief statement in which he said allowing hunting would violate a responsibility to maintain Illinois wildlife.

"Bobcats are a valuable part of Illinois' ecosystem and continue to need protection," he said.

His decision ignores the recommendation of the state Department of Natural Resources, which supported a hunting season as a way to help in long-term management of the species, which officials estimate have rebounded to about 5,000 in Illinois since being removed from the threatened species list in 1999.

Hunting advocates said bobcats have become nuisances in some places, but opponents questioned the science behind declaring them recovered and argued that bobcat hunting is about trophies, not food.

They said the legislation lacked adequate controls to halt the hunting if the species again nears endangered status. The measure would have allowed hunting of bobcats between November and mid-February, and hunters would have been limited to one bobcat per year.

Quinn's veto came on his last day in office. Republican Bruce Rauner will be inaugurated on Monday.

The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House by a vote of 91-20. But the vote was closer in the Senate, 30-19, with a number of lawmakers choosing not to weigh in.

About twice the size of an average house cat, native Illinois bobcats stand about 2 feet tall and typically weigh 15 to 25 pounds. They have stubby "bobbed" tails 4 to 5 inches long and their prominent ears are marked by short blackish tufts.

They are believed to inhabit 17 of Illinois' 102 counties, mostly in the south and west where abundant woodlands and brushy, grassy tracts offer both food and cover. Across the U.S., it's estimated they number between 725,000 and 1 million, according to the Defenders of Wildlife conservationist group.

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The bill is HB4226.