Talking Points For Your Email To CDFW:
Urge the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to Maintain the Ban on Bobcat Hunting and Trapping.
- Keep California's bobcat protections in place. Urge the Department to maintain the state's prohibition on recreational bobcat hunting and trapping in its Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan.
- Uphold the Bobcat Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1254). California passed this important legislation to protect bobcats from unnecessary killing. These protections should not be weakened or reversed.
- Bobcats are essential to healthy ecosystems. As native predators, they help regulate prey populations, maintain ecological balance, and support biodiversity throughout California.
- A stable population is not a reason to resume hunting. Although recent research estimates California's bobcat population at more than 62,000, population stability should be viewed as a conservation success, not an invitation to begin killing these animals again.
- Bobcats already face significant threats. Habitat destruction, urban development, vehicle collisions, disease, and habitat fragmentation threaten their survival. Recreational hunting would add unnecessary mortality.
- Existing laws already address legitimate conflicts. California has mechanisms for addressing specific threats to livestock and property. Recreational hunting is not necessary to resolve these situations.
- Protect California's progress on wildlife conservation. AB 273, the Wildlife Protection Act of 2019, prohibited recreational and commercial fur trapping statewide. California should build upon these landmark protections, not reverse them.
- Reject recreational killing in the final management plan. The Department should explicitly recommend maintaining California's existing bobcat hunting and trapping prohibitions.
Suggested closing statement for advocates:
"I urge the Department to ensure the final Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan maintains California's existing prohibitions on recreational bobcat hunting and trapping. These magnificent native animals deserve continued protection, and California should remain a national leader in wildlife conservation."
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