New Hampshire Fish and Game has announced that there won’t be a bobcat-hunting season next winter after a much-contested proposal was killed on Wednesday.
READ: Legislative committee votes to object to new bobcat hunting season in NH
According to the Concord Monitor, the proposal to allow hunting and trapping of bobcats for next season was withdrawn. A legislative committee rejected the idea.
The proposal that would have allowed 50 bobcats to be hunted next December and January has been the most controversial plan put forward by Fish and Game in decades for the state.
In February, the Fish and Game Commission narrowly voted to approve the season, and it was then sent to lawmakers to draft rules and regulations. As proposed, the bill would have allowed a Dec. 1 through Jan. 31 season for 50 permits.
Hunters and trappers in support of the season said the bobcat population is very healthy, and over population would put the animals at risk.
Following public testimony, the committee deemed the bill "unconstitutional" because the season could lead to hunters killing the similar looking endangered Canadian Lynx, which would violate the Endangered Species Act.
After consideration of the NH Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR)’s preliminary objection to the text of the proposed administrative rule regarding a limited bobcat season (proceeding #2015-206), the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, in consultation with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission, today withdrew the proposal.
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