Please sign and share this petition in an effort to get South Dakota to stop handing out hunting permits to hunt and kill the mountain lions. If they are not soon protecting these animals, the mountain lion can quickly diminish in numbers and become extinct.
It is amazing and quite absurd that mountain lion hunters outnumber the deer hunters in South Dakota’s Black Hills. More permits were allowed and purchased to hunt and kill the lions than there were for deer. Many believe this is the optimum way to control and balance the population of mountain lion versus deer although the numbers are creating a drastic decrease and extinction. Last year alone, 4,351 mountain lion licenses were sold; double that of the year prior and more than a 1,000 of the rifle deer licenses.
Hunters seem to want the challenge of hunting the elusive predator and more licenses are being sold for mountain lion hunting while licenses for the Black Hills deer, which is capped in licenses permitted and sold. Some are highly in favor of hunting the mountain lions more than elk and deer while others are fearful of a loss of the animals due to extinction. Some hope to see a slight decrease in the lion population because of the concern that the predators are killing too many game species. However, too many licenses are permitted and an excess amount of cats being harvested each year.
There needs to be strict regulations on the number of permits and licenses sold for the purpose killing mountain lions. Please sign and share this petition in an effort to get South Dakota to stop handing out hunting permits to hunt and kill the mountain lions. If they are not soon protecting these animals, the mountain lion can quickly diminish in numbers and become extinct
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department – You need to reconsider all the licenses you are allowing each year for the purpose of hunting mountain lions. Despite the fact that they may be plentiful and a nuisance to other game at times, it should be illegal to hunt them in such numbers that decreases the population so drastically just for the thrill of it. Hunting deer and other animals are usually for a source of food not fun, leading to a possible extinction of these animals. This is a borderline animal cruelty. Limit the number of licenses granted each year and mountain lions hunted per permit.
