It is one thing to consider a hunting and trapping season on Bobcats in Southern Iowa,,,,,,,,,,,,,It is quite another to allow an unlimited hunter kill................That is what the Iowa Dept. of Ntl Resources is considering------going from a management plan that has allowed hunters to kill 15% of the 3000 Bobcats in the state to allowing an unlimited removal of the "Bobs".............C'mon Iowa Game Commissioners,,,,,,,,,,,,,,It was not that long ago, that Bobcats were nearly a state extirpated species.............Show some restraint and continued responsible wildlife management

Hunters may get to bag bobcats

muscatinejou

muscatinejournal.com

 Local hunters may soon have the chance to hunt bobcats in Muscatine County.

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the bobcat population has grown in Iowa to about 3,000. The DNR allowed hunters to trap 450 bobcats in the state during the 2012-13 season.

Now, because of the growing population, the DNR is proposing to open Muscatine and five other counties to bobcat hunting. The other counties are Audubon, Crawford, Dallas, Iowa and Poweshiek.

Muscatine County Conservation Officer Tom Campbell said the bobcat population isn't something the DNR has had a hand in; it's just been "a gradual move [by the bobcats] over the past couple years from Missouri and Nebraska."

Campbell said the bobcats were first spotted in southern Iowa before traveling north and throughout the state. "We first opened bobcat hunting to hunters in 2006 and that has continually expanded to include more [catches] throughout the state."

Campbell said bobcats can be seen almost anywhere in the county, but they're more commonly found in wooded areas.

"It's not unusual to see a bobcat in Muscatine [County] now," Campbell said.

DNR spokesperson Kevin Baskins said the proposed changes will be discussed at the next DNR commission meeting on Thursday, June 13. If the changes are accepted, the next hunting and trapping seasons would allow people to hunt or trap bobcats in Muscatine County. Another proposal would remove the hunting/trapping limit on bobcats, which currently stands at 450.

Baskins said the cats are harvested for their pelts and can trade anywhere from $50 to $250-300 depending on quality.

Campbell said if a person comes across a bobcat, "enjoy the sight but don't bother it." Baskins added that bobcats do not pose a threat to people.

"Spotting one is extremely rare unless you spend a lot of solitary time in the woods like some of the deer hunters," Baskins said. "They could pose a threat to smaller pets and livestock, [such as] chickens outside. Bobcats can prey on songbirds and other wildlife, but do not do nearly the amount of predator damage that feral house cats do."

He doesn't think the proposed changes would affect the population in Muscatine County. In fact, he anticipates the population will continue to grow.

"Our department has been conservative after opening [hunting and trapping] seasons in southern Iowa years ago," Campbell said. "The population has continued to expand and I don't see any reason for it to stop here."