Cougar hunting popular in Alberta: biologist
TV host’s cougar hunt was legal ‘as far as we know: ’Alberta Environment
Awell-known wildlife biologist says cougar hunting is not only legal but quite popular in Alberta during the late fall and early winter.
Mark Boyce, a professor of population ecology with the University of Alberta, says there are at least 2,500 cougars in the province.
“Cougar hunting is popular, especially with hounds,” he said in an email interview Thursday from his remote cabin. “The hound hunting season begins on Dec. 1 and strict quotas are set for males and for females in a number of cougar management areas.”
There’s an annual quota of up to 155 cougars that can be killed by residents each winter season in Alberta. Another 30 cats can be hunted by nonresidents.
Steve Ecklund, who’s an Alberta-based host of an outdoor television show, triggered outrage online when he bragged about hunting a big cat earlier this month. Ecklund posted photos of him holding the dead cougar and another of him making a stir-fry from the meat.
The post led to criticism from dozens of people, including Laureen Harper, the wife of former prime minister Stephen Harper.
“What a creep. Chasing a cougar with dogs until they are exhausted then shooting a scared, cornered and tired animal,” Harper said in a post on Twitter.
“Must be compensating for something, small penis probably.”
Ecklund did not respond to requests for comment, but he didn’t back down in subsequent posts about the hunt.
The province’s top wildlife biologist said complaints from the public prompted the Environment Department to look into Ecklund’s hunt of the male cougar in an area between Rocky Mountain House and Drayton Valley.
“Did the hunter have a proper licence? Was the quota still open in that specific management area? Was everything done legally?” said carnivore specialist Paul Frame. “As far as we know, that was a legal hunt.”
There were 1,025 licences given out in the 2016-17 hunting season and 125 cougars were killed.
So far this season, which is open until the end of February, more than 775 licences have been sold. Once a quota in each area is reached, the hunting season closes for the year.
Frame said the province has a cougar hunting season for management purposes.
“There’s a long-standing tradition of hunting cougars in Alberta,” he said. “It’s been regulated since ’69, with the quota in place since 1990.
“We have a very active cougar management program in Alberta (and) it’s adaptive. We adjust quotas based on the environmental conditions of the time.”
He and Boyce said cougars need to be managed because they can prey on cattle and can also become a public safety risk.
“Also, there is concern about cougars that can sometimes become bighorn sheep killers,” said Boyce. “Individuals can specialize on a particular prey and can cause the extirpation of local populations.”
Boyce suggested that the criticism of Ecklund is unwarranted.
“This is an anti-hunting rant,” he said. “There is nothing illegal about cougar hunting, but I understand that some people do not accept hunting. That is a personal choice.”
Harper said her family hunts and fishes, but killing for sport makes her sick.
Others on social media defended Ecklund’s right to hunt the cougar.