[browning_gold_12]

ok here goes. we all see the posts about panthers/mountain lions on here. i have just been told that 2 sets of tracks have been found on my duck lease near locust bayou. also during ML season, a guy had one scream at him from less than 100 yds away, and he says the woods went nuts. deer running everywhere, squirrels barking all around ,ducks getting up off the creek squelling. my question is, if this thing shows itself, and someone shoots it, what is gonna happen. i am looking for the letter of the law here, not just an opinion. the statement says they dont exist, or if they do they are feral. so does that make them like hogs?? or are they protected because there is not a season on them. please help..

BG12

 

[ODC]

Good question!

I was once told by a WO....was talking about shooting a groundhog, and WO was listening in. Anyway....he told me there is no season set for groundhogs...so if I killed one...he'd have to write me up. On a side note..I'm not sure if he was joking or for real...cause he and I joke around a lot. Needless to say I won't shot a groundhog.

Hopefully sombody will give us the legal shoot or don't shoot on this!

 

[Cache]

I'm curious to hear the answer myself.

Cache

 

[Hill Farm Hunter]

I have been asking this for two years and still do not know the answer. In my opinion, and my opinion really won't matter, if the official posistion is that there are no native wild Mountain Lions in the state and those that may or may not be out there have escaped or been released from captivity then they are feral and would be legal to shoot. You can shoot feral dogs, so I assume you can shoot feral cats as well. That being said, I still would probably not shoot because I could not afford the lawyer to argue my point for me, and I bet it would end up in court. It would sure be nice to have an official opinion on this. Who knows, if it is legal maybe someone will come forward and prove they are out there.

 

[CP]

"or are they protected because there is not a season on them."

BG12....I think you got it.......... basically :thumb:

 

[ODC]

HFH.....I don't believe AGFC has ever condoned shooting Feral DOGS nor CATS

:smack:
HOGS yes but dogs & cats no. :smack:

 

[John Stiles]

If "there's no season" on an animal means "you get wrote up", then how is it that hogs is an exception to the rule....and if hogs, why not cougars? I don't have to ask if there are any, I've seen them....and they were not escaped pets! But to admit they are around, sometimes cause a melee among folks that otherwise might have heard stories.......! So I doubt the AGFC will come out with anything definate...except: there aren't any...if there was and you shot one, you'd be breaking the law...since no season exists! And, by the way; cougar are considered endangered in some climes!!~John

 

[Hill Farm Hunter]

ODC they may not condone it, but plenty of them get shot. I would never shoot a dog known to be owned by someone unless it was vicous, but wild dogs running at large need to be shot. They will take down lifestock, and in a pack can be dangerous to people. They do not have the fear of man that a pack of coyotes would have. Can't say I have ever shot a wildcat, but it does irk me that there are no regulations for cats running at large as there are for dogs. Nearly ever year we have bluebirds nesting in the back yard, then they get eaten by the neighbors cat.

 

[browning_gold_12]

i appreciate all the comments, but what i am looking for is someone with an agfc check stub in their pocket to weigh in. or are they not gonna touch this one with a ten foot pole???

BG12

 

[CP]

If "there's no season" on an animal means "you get wrote up", then how is it that hogs is an exception to the rule....and if hogs, why not cougars?

John,
Hogs are not listed as a game animal or furbearer ..but..they ARE listed in the regulations as being legal to shoot. (page 28)

The book says...."There are no open seasons for hawks, owls, vultures, eagles, ruffed grouse, alligators, migratory songbirds or any species not discussed in this or any other Arkansas Game and Fish regulation guidebooks as having an open season."

Page #26 under "CLOSED SEASONS"

 

[CP]

BG12...I still got a G&F check stub (reward) from last year when we caught the night shooter....don't guess that counts though.....:smack:

 

[browning_gold_12]

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

i knew i could count on you CP :thumb:

 

[Trapper]

cp, how much was it?

 

[CP]

Five C notes...:biggrin:

 

[cal34]

Five C notes...:biggrin:

Wow,i need to catch some night hunters!

 

[4hunting]

I ask this same question 2 years ago. We had two calfs killed on the farm. The evidence & the tracks pointed strongly to a Big Cat may have been responsible. I called & ask what would be the deal if I saw the suspect cat & I tended to the problem myself. First I was told that NO Wild Big Cats were know to be in Arkansas. If one was in the area,it was most likely not a wild cat but a tame cat that had either been released in the wild or had escaped. I was told that they did not regulate these animals, nor did they have any reg's that protected these feral cats.

But, at the end of the conversation I was advised that if this problem happen again it might be a good idea to contact an AG&F personal to look at the site before I took care of the problem because these Big Cats that don't exist are on the protected list if they do exist?

I also would like for an official statement to be made on this. From what was explained to me several years ago I still don't know what is legal anymore now than I did then!

 

[fairweatherhunter]

Shoot them if they are endangering your stock, and remove the carcus quickly. :wink: Damn if I'll let a non-exsistent critter break me, how can you get fined if they don't exsist?

 

[466]

Personally, I hope we have a breeding population and they produce offspring, I don't have nearly the problem with accepting them that I do with aligators. Kinda good for a man to have the short hairs stand up on the back of your neck once in a while:thumb:

 

[CDay]

Xring one cougar takes on a average of 30 deer a year so a breeding pair would first relate to 80 deer a year. Then the already out of control coyote population is putting a major hurt on fawning recruitment.

 

[John Stiles]

I hate to say it, but in an evironment that is target rich(deer), an adult cougar may pull down as many as 50 per year! Cougars eat, then hide the carcass for future reference....but if a fresh prospect arises, the carcass may be forgotten(usually bears find them first anyway), and a new carcass created. That's how the big cat ensures his food supply! I wouldn't put it past a mother cougar to kill two young deer at one time if she had two or three younguns of her own to feed. Remember...the more deer in an environment, the more a cougar can pull down!~John>>>P/S In places that have populations of cougars, but not many deer, you may find instances of humans being targeted by hunger driven (carnivorous)felines!