No good cause for hunting bobcats

Bobcats had disappeared from Illinois for a reason: they were trapped and hunted to near extinction in Illinois for their gorgeous pelts.

Unlike most other species hunted in Illinois, bobcats are not hunted for their meat - nobody is eating bobcat. Today, trappers and houndsmen kill bobcats but only sell the belly fur on the global fur market. The rest of the "trophy" goes to waste.

Protected in Illinois for 40 years, Gov. Bruce Rauner now has a bill on his desk that would allow trapping and hounding of bobcats - but just for a handful of constituents who profit from this cruel practice.

This legislation would subject bobcats to extremely cruel and unsporting practices. A bobcat hunt is unnecessary in Illinois, is simply not backed by science and would jeopardize this still recovering species by allowing the same methods that led to their near decimation in the first place.

Weighing about 20 to 40 pounds, they are small, shy and elusive. Therefore conflicts with humans are minimal and they pose no genuine threat to public safety.

Wildlife is held in the public trust in the interest of all citizens of the State. Killing bobcats robs the rest of us from knowing or perhaps even glimpsing them in the wild.

I call upon the governor to veto HB352, and I hope you will too. Bobcats should be treasured and respected, not turned into fur coats, giving credence to private profiteering from the public's commons.

Lisa Velez

Round Lake Beach