On February 15, 2021 (BC Family Day) a resident group of trophy hunters went out into the newly fallen snow on Vancouver Island to easily track cougars. They killed four that day, likely an entire family. The woman among the hunters took to her public Instagram account to post the following images.

In Region 1, Vancouver Island, cougar hunting season extends from September 10 – June 15. For a $24 tag each hunter can take up to 2 animals. Evidently with a group of hunters several animals can be killed in a single day, and it’s legal.

Cougars are not yet an endangered species on the island, but they are killed regularly by trappers, resident trophy hunters and international trophy hunters who must use the services of guide outfitters, and as nuisance animals by Conservation Officers who use hounds, traps and guns.

A recent essay in Conservation Biology titled “Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt” discusses how society grants or withholds informal permission for resource extractors to exploit publicly owned resources, noting that killing for trophies is widespread, but undertaken by a minority of hunters. A widespread minority can do a lot of damage.

Informal hunting groups have formed to recruit – yes, that is the term they use – women and minors into their activities, seeking acceptance for their hobby by a broader audience. Their efforts include the claim that the predators are indeed eaten, a recent claim by hunters in the past decade. On a public Facebook post of her cougar kill the Instagram poster answered the question “Do people eat cougars?” with an enthusiastic “Yes! My brother in law makes them into sausages.”

If social license is to be lost to BC’s hunters, it won’t be because of violent photos posted with glee by their own kind. It will be because the majority of non-hunters now know that hunters are the only stakeholders at the table creating wildlife policy. It’s time for the presence of another stakeholder.

By Kelly Carson, February 20, 2021