By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will soon publish, and accept public comments on, a proposal that would ban “canned” hunts for mountain lions and require trap checks every 36 hours.

The rule, which was presented to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission last week, is the result of recommendations made by the Mountain Lion Stakeholder Working Group in January.

“(They) completed their year-long analysis and recommended that the commission prohibit canned hunting of mountain lions,” Richard Heilbrun, director of TPWD’s Wildlife Diversity Program, said. “We’re defining canned hunting as when a lion is released from captivity for the purpose of hunting or pursuing with hounds.”

The proposed rule would continue to allow hunting free-ranging mountain lions with and without hounds and would allow lions caught in traps to be lawfully dispatched.

The proposal would prohibit a trapper from keeping a live mountain lion in a trap or snare for more than 36 hours.

“The Mountain Lion Stakeholder Working Group agreed that checking traps regularly is an important and ethical practice, that targeted trapping is a useful management tool, and that if the commission were to establish new trapping standards, it should be done in a way to allow electronic trap monitors to satisfy that requirement,” Heilbrun told the commission.

The 36-hour rule, if adopted by the commission, would not apply to lethal trap snares.

There would also be no violation of the rule if the snare includes a breakaway device that disassembles with 285 pounds of force.

“A breakaway device is essentially a weak link in a snare with a four-and-a-half foot cable,” Heilbrun said. “In a typical snare set up, coyotes would generate an average of 192 pounds of force, maxing out at about 250 pounds. We know that bears can generate more than 300 pounds of force, and we know that a mountain lion can drag a 200-pound buck of dead weight. So, there’s evidence they may be able to disassemble a snare with a breakaway device.”

The proposal does not require a breakaway device on snares, but TPWD says having one would provide assurance that if a lion were to be accidentally captured alive, there would be no violation of the rule, if adopted.

Heilbrun estimates each breakaway device costs about 20 cents and takes a few minutes to add to a snare.

“The 36-hour requirement would only apply to keeping a live lion restrained in a trap if there are no lines present. If it is a lethal set, or if the snare disassembles, no violation could occur,” Heilbrun said.

Changes to the trapping regulations, according to Heilbrun, could also have the benefit of minimizing accidental bear captures in traps.

“In the last two decades, we’ve been notified of 17 bears in lion traps, and when we’re notified in the first few days of being caught, we were able to release 13 of them, or about 76%,” Heilbrun said.

The department’s objective was to design a clear, concise trapping requirement for mountain lions with minimal impact on the trapping of other species.

“The proposal we have for you is specifically about the trapping of lions. However, there’s no trap that only catches lions, and there’s no trap that only catches coyotes,” Heilbrun said. “Since we were asked to avoid affecting the trapping of other species, it becomes very complex very quickly.”

The proposed rule will be published in the Texas Register, opening up a public comment period.

After the public comment period ends, TPWD will review the comments and may come back to the commission with a final recommendation for their consideration.

If the rule is adopted by the commission, the penalty for breaking the rule would be a class C misdemeanor.

Mountain Lion Management Plan
The Mountain Lion Stakeholder Working Group that recommended the proposed rule was established in 2022 after Texans for Mountain Lions petitioned TPWD asking for bag limits, mandatory harvest reporting, required 36-hour trap checks and additional research on the elusive wildcats.

TPWD denied the proposed regulatory actions at the time but directed the formation of the 19-member working group.

The stakeholder group, which consisted of landowners, livestock producers, private land managers, trappers and natural resource professionals, met for a year before presenting its recommendations to TPWD and the commission.

The working group recommended a statewide mountain lion management plan. The commission directed TPWD staff to begin work on that plan in January.

“This plan would serve as a roadmap for the actions the department will take and find clear goals and objectives and improve communication and transparency,” Jonah Evans, TPWD’s non-game and rare species program leader, said. “This is a plan for the actions the department will be taking. This is not a plan for what landowners will do or should do on their property.”

The plan is expected to contain a summary of Texas mountain lion research to date; clearly defined management goals and objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound; and a timeline for updating the plan and evaluating progress made toward management goals.

The stakeholder group asked that the plan take a regional approach rather than a single statewide approach to mountain lion management.

TPWD staff plan to begin working on the management plan after the conclusion of the May commission meeting and expect completion of the plan within a one year.

“During the remainder of 2024, staff plan to begin outlining the document, complete a first draft and gather regional stakeholder input,” Evans said. “Then in 2025, staff plan to deliver the final draft to the executive office for review and approval, and then come back to the commission at that point.”

Currently, mountain lions are classified as a non-game animal in Texas.

As such, there is no season or bag limits. Canned hunting for mountain lions is legal.

There are no trap check requirements currently, except for commercial trappers. They’re required to check traps every 36 hours.

Texas farmers, ranchers and landowners are allowed to use traps and other approved hunting techniques to protect their livestock from mountain lions.

Texas Farm Bureau supports classifying the mountain lion as a predator rather than a game animal.