Stock photo of a cougar.

A recent cougar attack on livestock in the Willamette Valley has re-ignited an interest in the use of dogs to hunt cougars, a practice that has been banned since the passage of a 1994 state measure.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates the state’s cougar population at 6,200 – more than twice the minimum outlined as desirable in the Cougar Management Program. And recently published (2014) results of long-term ODFW studies show that Oregon has one of the fastest-growing populations of cats in the Northwest, approximately 20 percent growth per year.

The studies suggest that without dog hunting it is unlikely that the cougar population could be lowered to sustainable and desirable levels.

Cougar sightings have been on the rise statewide. Wildlife Services reports that it responds to more than 400 cougar calls per year (697 in 2003), of which one in three involves threats to human health and safety.

But the cougar attacks that sparked larger conversations on the west side began in mid-September when livestock owners in the Oregon City/Canby area began losing sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas. By early October, more than two dozen animals had been taken.

Capturing and removing the cougar was a complicated process for Wildlife Services because of its proximity to metro areas, the smaller ranches and properties requiring multiple permissions for action on or near their boundaries, the inability to use hounds to pursue the cat for the same reasons and the danger of accidentally trapping a pet instead of the cougar.

The cat was shot Oct. 5 when a livestock owner spotted the cougar, brought in private hounds and waited for the cat to return. The cat was subsequently treed on the landowners’ property and legally shot. Wildlife Services State Director David Williams said the agency had “great certainty that the Canby cougar responsible was taken by the livestock producer.” It was a healthy, 126-pound male. age 3-4.

In response to the incident and subsequent cougar sightings, the west side of the state began to take a keener interest in the growing cougar population. An Oct. 20 Oregonian editorial revisited the idea of counties opting out of the ban on hunting cougars with dogs – revitalizing the discussion.

Four bills in the legislature that would allow this have already been floated – with identical wording, according to Brandon Pursinger, legislative director for Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena.

Sen. Hansell introduced his bill (SB 126) last session. Other replica bills that have been introduced include those of Sen. Fred Girod, R- Stayton, (SB 453), Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach (HB2050) and the House Committee for Natural Resources (HB 2181).

The wording of the bills allows counties to exempt themselves from the ban if the county passes a measure allowing the hunting of cougar with dogs.

The bills originally stalled because they went counter to the state ban, but the opt-out provision that applied to Measure 91, the law to allow the sale and use of medical marijuana, set a precedent that is now being tested in other areas.

State lawmakers may only introduce two bills each in the upcoming short session, and Sen. Hansell is committed to his two bills on management of wolves and compensation for ranchers suffering wolf predation. He has a third bill related to human safety with regard to wolf conflict on his plate as well.

However, if the state Fish and Wildlife Commission withdraws Endangered Species Act protections for wolves during its Nov. 9 meeting, as recommended by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sen. Hansell may be able to switch gears and reintroduce the opt-out bill on cougar hunting.

“It’s possible one of these bills can be reintroduced in the short session, but we won’t know until December,” said Pursinger.

Hansell said that if the wolf is delisted animal activist groups most likely will file suit against ODFW and he will have to defend his stance, making it unlikely he will be able to put the cougar hunting ban on his short list of bills to present.

Wildlife Service officials are allowed to use dogs to hunt cougars that prey on domestic animals or stray too near to human habitation because the practice is more successful. According to ODFW statistics 56,000 cougar tags were sold in 2014 but only 209 hunters successfully filled their tags. This is partly because 41,000 cougar tags were part of the Sport Pac, along with upland bird and waterfowl, spring turkey, general and controlled buck deer and elk and general or controlled bear hunting. Many hunters have no firm plans to hunt all of the animals in the Sport Pac, but want to be prepared if an opportunity presents itself.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article greatly underestimated the number of cougar tags distributed by the state each year.