First Year Bobcat Harvest Includes Some From Local Area

Nearly 150 bobcats were taken during the first season that a new law allowed the previously endangered animals to be hunted.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says preliminary totals show 141 bobcats were taken during the season, which ran from November through January.

Of those, 69 were taken by hunting and 49 by trapping. Another 12 were taken by archery and 11 salvaged from roads.

Jefferson County had the third highest number taken in the state, with one taken by archery, five by guns, and one by trapping. In both Marion and Clinton Counties, two were taken by gun and one by trapping. In Fayette County, two were taking by gun and three by trapping. In Wayne County, one bobcat was harvested by gun and one by trapping.

Lawmakers passed a bill in 2015 to allow the nocturnal animals to be hunted.

Supporters said the bobcat population had grown and become a nuisance and a threat. Opponents, including the Humane Society, said supporters exaggerated the size of the bobcat population.

The law allowed no more than 300 bobcats to be taken each season.