Oregon passes AB 2337 cougar/hound bill

[Peter Meyer]

On 4/20/11 the Oregon legislature passed AB 2337 which will allow the use of hounds to hunt cougar. It will face a tough battle in the senate as we all know Oregon is full of antis. Chalk one up for us this time. Congrats Oregon. -Pete
76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 Regular Session
House Bill 2337
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5). Presession filed (at the request of House In-
terim Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Communities)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.
Requires State Department of Fish and Wildlife to recommend rules to State Fish and Wildlife
Commission regarding creation of pilot program that allows persons to use dogs to hunt or pursue
cougars. Allows commission to adopt rules to create and implement pilot program. Requires persons
to possess certain permits and tags to use dogs to hunt or pursue cougars. Allows county governing
body to request inclusion in pilot program. Directs department to report to commission and Eight-
ieth Legislative Assembly.
Sunsets January 2, 2020.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to cougars; and providing for criminal sentence reduction that requires approval by a
two-thirds majority.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. Sections 2 to 4 of this 2011 Act are added to and made a part of ORS chapter
498.
SECTION 2. (1) The State Department of Fish and Wildlife, after consultation with the
governing bodies of counties pursuant to section 3 of this 2011 Act, shall recommend rules
to the State Fish and Wildlife Commission regarding the creation of a pilot program for se-
lect cougar management zones in which one or more dogs may be used to hunt or pursue
cougars. The pilot program’s primary goals are to reduce cougar conflicts and to assess
cougar populations.
(2) The commission may by rule create a pilot program allowing persons to use one or
more dogs to hunt or pursue cougars, including but not limited to specifying hunting seasons
or pursuit seasons in the cougar management zones described in subsection (1) of this sec-
tion.
(3) Any rules adopted by the commission to create a pilot program allowing for the
hunting or pursuit of cougars using one or more dogs under this section must ensure that
all hunts and pursuits are:
(a) Designed to reduce cougar conflicts;
(b) Reflective of the most current cougar population data; and
(c) Designed to generate data that are necessary for the department to satisfy the re-
porting requirements of section 4 of this 2011 Act.
(4) A person may not use one or more dogs to hunt or pursue cougars unless the person
is in possession of such valid permits and tags as the commission issues pursuant to sub-
section (5) of this section.
(5)(a) Subject to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this subsection, the commission
shall establish by rule the terms and conditions of permits and tags for persons desiring to
NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 1278
HB 2337
use one or more dogs to hunt or pursue cougars.
(b)(A) The annual fee for residents for a permit and tag may not exceed $100.
(B) The annual fee for nonresidents for a permit and tag may not exceed $300.
(c) All moneys received by the commission under this subsection shall be paid into the
State Wildlife Fund established under ORS 496.300.
SECTION 3. A county governing body may request inclusion in the pilot program au-
thorized by section 2 of this 2011 Act by:
(1) Adopting a resolution that requests inclusion in the pilot program described in section
2 of this 2011 Act;
(2) Documenting the need to participate in the pilot program described in section 2 of this
2011 Act by identifying the extent of cougar conflicts in the categories of human safety,
livestock losses, pet depredations or big game population management objectives; and
(3) Demonstrating that existing cougar management actions or other existing wildlife
management tools have not been sufficient to manage cougars in that county.
SECTION 4. (1) After the culmination of any pilot program described in section 2 of this
2011 Act, the State Department of Fish and Wildlife shall report to the State Fish and
Wildlife Commission and the Eightieth Legislative Assembly, providing:
(a) A summary of how the pilot program aided in the collection of data useful for making
future wildlife management decisions; and
(b) A recommendation as to whether the pilot program would serve as a model for ef-
fective cougar management in the future.
(2) The report required by this section must be completed in collaboration with the
counties that choose to participate in the pilot program pursuant to section 3 of this 2011
Act.
SECTION 5. Sections 2 to 4 of this 2011 Act are repealed on January 2, 2020.
[2]

[Cosmo]

Nice job Oregon. I hope this goes through for you. Good luck.

[mike martell]

pete,
thanks for posting. this is the spot this belongs. the bill was introduced by dist. 21 brian clem a democrat. two other house bills didn't have the context of 2337. i'm concerned that the anti's are going to chew up the public safety aspect of this bill. given we haven't had any person killed by a cougar in oregon....my position from day one, about two years ago was different. sadly enough if this goes down in defeat oregon is finished. game management is gone and so are the mule deer,the man behind northwest big game inc. or more commonly know as the record book for oregon's big game animals is calling for the mule deer to be placed on the endangered or threatened species list....pretty bad when the man who prospers from the registry of ungulates is wanting to shut most or all mule deer hunting down in oregon.... many small mammals that cougars prey upon are also going by the wayside, and in the end the the cougar will not make it either, disease and starvation will finish them off.....their is a silver lining to saving the animals if the anti's win....the wolf won't make it either....you kinda weigh this out.....this is easy for us to figure out, but those that think mother nature is a good provider, going to get a wake up call and when they do figure it out it will be too late....the choice is in the hands of 16 senate democrats and 14 senate republicans and a sworn to veto governor...

ironically oregons governor kitzhaber is concerned about the current condition of the mule deer. he is more concerned about loosing the revenue deer hunting generates for the state of oregon. bottom line....we lost in 1994...we have the ability to bail the state out of this huge mess if they allow it....if not.... all the feel good folks are screwed...mother nature will wipe it all out...my stand....let them vote it down or let the governor veto this legislation...ultimately we get to see the anti's cry the blues....not a bad deal...if not passed this time...the state will beg for assistance sooner than later...maybe then it can and will be on our terms......let the bleeding hearts figure out their own solution....after all, this mess was created by them...

this doesn't repeal measure 18, it simply gets the hunting regulated by our game department and what most don't know is this.....oregonians pay over three grand per cougar to hire usda to kill toms, females, kittens and as they hit the ground the only recovery are those telemetry collars that were on the study cats....the rest...left to rot....back about two years ago....dist. 17 representative sprenger agreed their has to be a better way, she started this ball rolling for the benefit of the animals....we all agree to this....we have several common sense folks in salem but possibly enough to block passage....get on board and contact both the senate members and our governor...thanks...mike