By Julie Tomascik
Editor

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recently adopted new rules related to hunting and trapping mountain lions in the state.

The new rules ban live mountain lions from being kept in a trap or snare for more than 36 hours. The commission also voted to ban canned hunts.

Breaking the rules is punishable by a Class C misdemeanor and a fine up to $500.

“We’re disappointed that the commission didn’t take into account ranchers’ testimonies or consider the stakeholder group’s recommendations,” said Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) District 6 State Director Warren Cude, who has lost livestock to the predators. “Mountain lions are deadly predators to livestock, and farmers and ranchers need the ability to manage them without facing criminal penalties.”

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) recommended commissioners adopt the rules after hearing from the Mountain Lion Stakeholders Group that met over the last year.

The department received 7,351 comments on the proposal, with 91% in favor, according to TPWD.

Landowner organizations, including TFB, provided written comments and public testimony in opposition to the trapping rule.

In response to those comments, TPWD staff recommended an alternative rule to provide more flexibility for farmers and ranchers managing predators, especially coyotes, with snares. The agency added an exemption for snares set with a diameter of 10-inches or less. This replaced a previous exemption for traps set with a breakaway device that would release any animal that exceeded the breakaway threshold of 285 pounds of force.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission directed TPWD staff to evaluate issues surrounding mandatory reporting of mountain lion takes and implementation of trap check standards because they can be monitored with satellite or cellular equipment.

In written comments and public testimony, TFB recommended the agency develop best management practices (BMPs) as an alternative strategy to mandatory trap checks.

Voluntary implementation of the BMPs would promote coordination and cooperation between TPWD, ranchers and trappers, TFB said.

The BMPs would underscore the ethics of lion trapping, detail ways to avoid incidental captures of black bears and provide resources for trappers to increase their professionalism and efficiency.

TFB also encouraged TPWD to work with landowners and the Texas Trappers and Fur Hunters Association in developing the BMPs.