Scott Underwood: Does Indiana really need a bobcat hunting season?

Feb. 13—When I heard that a current bill in the Indiana Legislature would require the Department of Natural Resources to create hunting and trapping seasons for bobcat, my knee-jerk reaction was visceral.

What?! No way that makes sense.

While anecdotal evidence from trail cams, woodland sightings and roadkill confirm that the bobcat is making a comeback in Indiana, the beautiful wildcat is still rarely or never seen by most Hoosiers.

It's been nearly two decades since bobcats were removed from the state's endangered species list, but the gulf between not being endangered and being hunted should be wide.

As a nature lover, I just can't imagine that bobcats are in enough abundance anywhere in the state that a hunting/trapping season is needed to bring their numbers under control. Data simply isn't available to support the idea that bobcat are either plentiful or overabundant in Indiana.

Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, the author of Senate Bill 241 sees it differently. He notes that the bobcat, Indiana's only native wildcat, preys on deer, turkeys, cottontail rabbits and other small game.

"I think they're a majestic creature that I want to see continue in Indiana, but they are 100% an apex predator," Baldwin, said in an article in the Indiana Capital Chronicle. "In the interest of maintaining biological and ecological homeostasis, I think it's important that we determine how we do this responsibly, and who better than our scientists and biologists at the DNR?"

Baldwin, a self-described outdoorsman, owns 150 acres in southern Indiana, where Hoosier bobcats are most prevalent. He and some other landholders in the state say that these bob-tailed wildcats are taking a deep bite out of other wild mammal populations, particularly turkey.

Back in 2018, the Department of Natural Resources floated the idea of a bobcat season. Backlash from the public was so strong that the agency backpedaled.

Six years later, there's stomach enough in at least one chamber of the Legislature to require the DNR to put bobcats back in the crosshairs.

Senate Bill 241 passed through its chamber of origin by a 40-9 vote in late January. In the House, the bill is still alive, having been referred Feb. 6 to the Committee on Natural Resources.

If the bill passes the House and is signed into law by the governor, the DNR would be compelled to establish a bobcat season to begin no later than July 1, 2025. It would cost a resident Hoosier $15 for a license to kill a bobcat, while nonresident youth would pay $24 and nonresident adults $120.

Having gotten past my visceral reaction to this bill and thinking with a clearer head, I still can't see that a bobcat season is necessary to bring the species under control, except perhaps in small pockets of the state. The bill would potentially allow the DNR to establish bobcat hunting in some counties but not others.

As for trapping, unless the device kills the animal instantly, it seems flat-out cruel. Also, adding a bobcat trapping season would inject the profit motive, which is rarely a good idea when it comes to wildlife management. Bobcat pelts, as of last spring, had a value of $40-$300 in the U.S.

Another consideration: The DNR already offers recourse for owners of land under assault by bobcats. You can purchase a nuisance wildlife control permit for $25 from the agency to respond to predation of livestock or other damage caused by the wildcat. And, if you want to avoid those nasty claws and fangs, you can hire a nuisance wildlife control expert to assist in removing the offending critters.

All of these factors lead me to believe that Baldwin's bill is motivated not so much by the necessity of bringing an overly abundant species under control as by the desire to give hunters another trophy target on Indiana soil.

Editor Scott Underwood's column appears Tuesdays. Like him on Facebook. Contact him at scott.underwood@heraldbulletin.com or 640-4845.