Oh yeah, trapping them is legal too. That idea has to just fry some heads on the coasts. It’s just like you imagine. Evil-looking-metal-leg-hold traps that clamp the little Bobcats leg by slamming it tight, thus entrapping the animal. The Bobcat is then forced to endure hours of torture waiting until the greedy trapper can safely approach and dispatch the helpless creature. Dispatch means to kill, if you don’t know, usually with small arms or a club. Then you skin off the hide and sell it for cash. Win/win. Control the Bobcat population and make some dough.
I’m sure this seems revolting to my anti-hunter friends, but it is the way of things on the Iowa prairie. Maybe you could pass a law or something to outlaw it? Wait, no way, a government agency just sanctioned it. Darn. Maybe you could come out here and find some guy in the woods and throw red paint on him? That should be sporting. If that doesn’t work you could sneak around in the forest and destroy some trappers’ sets. Sorry, though, if you’re from the city, it’ll be pretty hard for you to find those, unless of course you are lucky enough to find one with a Bobcat actually in the trap. In that case, approach it slowly, speak soothingly, and don’t make any sudden movements. Say things like, here, kitty, kitty. Then lovingly release the trap from the injured leg, thus releasing the thankful feline back into the wild. I would recommend having a friend video the release, as I’m quite sure it will be YouTube material.
Happy hunting!
Image: Florida Bobcat; author: Craig ONeal; Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
