Will Another Cougar Attack Change Washington’s Hunting Laws?

Another cougar attack in Washington State has some people arguing on social media that it is long past time for the legislature to repeal a 1996 ban on hunting the big cats with the use of hounds, a move which veteran outdoorsmen and women contend has created considerable problems.

The attack on a 60-year-old mountain biker, who was with four others on a trail in east King County, was brought to a finish when her fellow cyclists managed to bring the young cougar to bay by holding it down with a mountain bike until Fish & Wildlife officers arrived and shot it.

Reports of a second cat in the area could not be confirmed, even after a houndsman was called in to see whether his dogs could catch a scent.

Whether this incident will be discussed by the Fish & Wildlife Commission when it meets March 14-16 remains to be seen. No immediate action would likely result.

The attack made national headlines and ignited a debate on Facebook at the site of Northwest Sportsman magazine, which has covered wildlife management battles in the Evergreen State for several years.

At one time, former State Rep. Brian Blake (D-Grays Harbor) sponsored a bill to allow the pursuit of mountain lions. It was fiercely opposed by predator proponents.

At the time, Blake—an ardent hunter and outdoorsman—remarked, “The use of dogs is the best tool we have for managing cougar populations in our state. What we learned from the pilot project was that hound hunting was the best biological tool to manage the cougar population. The big cats are not killed at random; they are treed to determine their sex and age to then decide if it makes sense to put them down or not.”

The attack occurred only a few miles from where another biker was killed and partly eaten by a mountain lion in May 2018. State wildlife officers were able to track that cat down a few hours later and killed it. Last year, an 8-year-old girl was attacked by a cougar on the north side of Olympic National Park, but her mother was able to rescue her child by aggressively yelling at the animal.

Hunting opponents—those who favor protecting cougars—have been able to prevent sportsmen from regaining ground. It is still legal to hunt cougars, but not with hounds. And recent moves by the Fish & Wildlife Commission suggest a push to return hound hunting likely would not get that panel’s support. Last year, the commission stopped the annual spring black bear hunt.

Bears may also not be hunted with hounds or bait under terms of the 1996 citizen initiative.

However, under Article II of the Washington state constitution, the legislature could reverse or amend the ban. Only within the first two years of enactment of a citizen initiative are the hands of lawmakers constitutionally tied. It has been nearly 28 years since the hound hunting ban was approved.

Historically, mountain lion attacks have been rare, but they have still been deadly. Joggers and cyclists in California have been attacked. A man in New Mexico was killed in 2008. Four years earlier, a cyclist in California was killed and partly eaten in Orange County. Two women were killed in separate attacks in California in 1994, and in 1989, a 5-year-old Montana youngster was also killed.

The Northwest Sportsman Facebook entry brought some interesting reactions from readers. One man predicted, “More and more will happen, kid from a bus stop? As we encroach on their turf, ban hound hunting and trapping. There’s plenty of habitat for them but not when they propagate beyond available land, they are VERY territorial and maintain their domain against young cats which inevitably are pushed into human collision. Without proper game management/conservation practices such as hunting and trapping, more will die. More humans and more cougars. Insane love for animals outweighs logic! Read, ‘Never a Time to Trust!’”

Another man chimed in, “Sounds like a situation of you get what you vote for. I truly hope they weren’t that type and I’m wrong, but cats need to be controlled. Hound hunting is the best way. They have no natural predators that will keep them in check, so what other options are there? They’re really ‘pretty’ until they kill you or something you love…”

Other respondents shared similar sentiments. A few others suggested other solutions, such as capturing and relocating any offending animals.

The Evergreen State has become something of a haven for animal protectionists. In addition to the expanding populations of cougars and black bears—population estimates are treated with suspicion by many in the outdoors—the wolf reintroduction effort has resulted in problems for ranchers and possibly for elk and deer herds. More recently, the Biden administration has been favorable to grizzly bear reintroduction in the North Cascades.

With each new encounter between humans and predatory wild animals, there is invariably a reminder that such attacks “are rare.” But they only need to happen once to change someone’s life forever, or bring it to a grisly end.

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.