I think its funny(not) how the large majority of people that push the hardest to have a certain type of hunting banned(hound hunting) are not the ones that have to deal with these animals in thier back yard and think they should be protected.
I also think there is a lesson in that article about the way the wildlife dept in that state had a method of hunting that was legal(hound hunting) and working before it was banned. Now they have had to come up with a new un-proven way to control them and now it seems that they are killing more cougars and affecting the population a lot more. Seems to me that the anti's "victory" backfired. IMO it goes to show that ordinary people should leave wildlife management up to the experts.

I think its funny(not) how the large majority of people that push the hardest to have a certain type of hunting banned(hound hunting) are not the ones that have to deal with these animals in thier back yard and think they should be protected.

Brilliant observation! No really. I don't think this is just a coincidence. I think the reason you see this is that HSUS et. al. has a history of seeking out target states that have large urban areas surrounded by animal habitat that is relatively unpopulated. The urban voters far out number the rural voters that deal with the game or regularly hunt.

Worse HSUS has been playing this game for some time.

Please look at this page and read the bio for Katherine D. Bragdon. She is a platoon leader in the war on bear baiting and hound hunting. Look at it:

Colorado (bear baiting, spring bear hunt) 1992
Oregon (bear baiting and hound hunting) 1994
Washington (bear baiting and hound hunting) 1996
Washington (trapping ban) 2000
Maine (bear baiting and hound hunting) 2004

In each state large urban hubs are used to out vote the rural minority. They don't even care if they lose dramatically in rural counties, they concentrate all their marketing dollars on populations that by and large do not deal with wildlife or hunt.

Their organization and ability to run this play book over a decade is amazing. They are well organized, smart, well funded, and passionate. They also spell big trouble for the future.