TAKE ACTION:
PROTECT NEVADA
MOUNTAIN LIONS
FROM TRAPS
Please write an email to your Nevada Wildlife Commissioners
Photo by Roy Toft
Raise awareness & speak out
Since 1965, mountain lions (also known as cougars, pumas, or panthers, and by the scientific name Puma concolor) have been classified as a game species in Nevada and protected from recreational trapping. Despite legal protection, significant numbers of mountain lions are caught in traps set for other species, especially bobcats.
Recreational trapping of mountain lions in Nevada is not permitted by law. Yet, documentation available from the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) reveals that mountain lions have, for years, been frequently trapped in Nevada, resulting in unnecessary, largely preventable pain, injury, and death to the trap victims – regarded by many as cruelty.
Petitioners find this fact contrary to the public interest, the well-being of Nevada’s wildlife, and the fair and proper treatment of this iconic species. Nor does it accord with statutory mandates for protection and management of wildlife on behalf of the public’s interest.
PERSONALIZE YOUR COMMENTS FOR BEST RESULTS
Sample talking points:
- Nevada has some of the worst trapping regulations in the American West, including a 96-hour trap check window which is longer than even Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.
- Nevada does not require any trapper education.
- Trappers are allowed to use traps that are too big for targeted species, which threatens larger, non-target species like mountain lions
- Mountain lions are both important cultural icons which capture the public imagination, and critical apex carnivores that maintain ecosystem balance.
- Trapping is inherently cruel, dangerous, and indiscriminate.