Proposals For Bobcat Hunting, Killing Of 'Nuisance Animals' Struck Down

Hoosiers won’t be allowed to hunt bobcats any time soon. The state's Natural Resources Commission decided not to go forward with two controversial proposals on Tuesday. 

The proposed rules would have created a hunting season for bobcats and required animal control to kill any so-called “nuisance animals” they caught — like raccoons and possums. The measures were introduced last year.

The NRC and the state Department of Natural Resources received thousands of comments and heard a lot of opposition at public meetings. The commission’s hearing officer even said the proposals deserve a closer look. 

DNR Director Cameron Clark says that was enough for the agencies to reconsider.

“We probably need to work more with our constituencies on sensitive rules like this,” he says. 

Environmentalists and animal rights activists were so pleased with the NRC’s decision, the agency got a round of applause.

“I’m very encouraged to that the DNR saw there were thousands of comments. There was far more opposition,” says Erin Huang, Indiana State Director for the Humane Society of the United States.