Sunday, 28 December 2014

NEWSLINK: Hunting of bobcats up to outgoing Illinois governor


BY JIM SUHR

Associated PressDecember 14, 2014 Updated 23 hours ago

ST. LOUIS — Ken Staley spends days setting traps in pursuit of beavers, otters, raccoons and muskrats. Yet the southwestern Illinois man for years has craved the chance to catch a more exotic prey: bobcats.

"I'm not sure what an Illinois bobcat is worth, but a western one fetches a really nice price — upwards of $100-plus," said Staley, who pursues trapping to supplement his window-coverings business in Millstadt, a village just southeast of St. Louis.

Soon, he may get his chance.

On the threatened species list for more than two decades until 1999, the nocturnal, pointy-eared cats have made enough of a comeback that Illinois lawmakers approved a measure this month allowing bobcat hunting in the state for the first time in more than 40 years.

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