Texas has scrapped a proposal requiring hunters to report information about one of its most elusive native predators.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has withdrawn a plan that would've required hunters to report mountain lion kills within 24 hours, the Texas Farm Bureau reported.
According to Fox 29, the hunters would've needed to log a mountain lion harvest within a day through the Texas Hunt and Fish app or the agency's website. They would've also needed to provide a premolar tooth and a small tissue sample within 60 days so biologists could determine the animal's age and sex.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department accepted public comment on the proposal through May 27, and the commission was set to review the proposal at its May 28 meeting in Austin.
While the TPWD said this requirement would allow it to better track mountain lion populations, the proposal received "significant opposition from landowners, hunters and agricultural groups," according to the Texas Farm Bureau.
Mountain lions in Texas are most often found in the Trans-Pecos, South Texas brush country, and the western Hill Country. The state currently has no harvest limits for the species, and officials say population data remains sparse because regulations have been so limited.
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If the proposal had been approved, hunters would have needed to report the county where the kill occurred rather than a precise location, and their information would've remain confidential under state law.
The agency also said its app works without cell service and that hunters could either send in the biological samples themselves or get help from a TPWD biologist. The agency has said that earlier voluntary reports produced too little data to effectively monitor the population. The proposal would require reporting but would not ban hunting.
However, the Texas Farm Bureau was among the groups that opposed the plan, raising concerns about how it could pave the way for further restrictions on landowners and hunters.
"This is a step in the right direction," Jay Bragg, TFB associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities, said in a statement following the withdrawal. "Texas Farm Bureau is encouraged by this action, and we look forward to working with the agency alongside industry stakeholders, landowners and the hunting community to outline a plan that does what's best for the species, animal agriculture and the state."
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