Resign you quisling murderous inhumane Canada-betraying fucks, Premier Danielle Smith and Minister Todd Loewen, you too “Minister” Environment & Protected Areas Rebecca Schultz. Stunning photos below.
The Canmore cougar tragedy featuring John E. Marriott 1 hour by The Furbearers, April 7, 2025
Photo by John E. Marriott / WildernessPrints.com
Anyone who follows John E. Marriott or Exposed Wildlife Conservancy on social media knows that a cougar John had tracked for many years was killed near Canmore, Alberta, earlier this year. It led to two orphaned kits, a harrowing experience for John, and a clear mission: to share this story with the public and lead to change for wildlife in Alberta. To give us the story from the very beginning and what he wants to see happen next, John Marriott joins Defender Radio.
To listen to this episode click the ‘play’ button below, download the MP3, visit us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts. Get the RSS feed here. Make sure you follow Defender Radio on Facebook and Instagram.
SHOW NOTES:
Photo of the orphaned cougars provided by John E. Marriott / WildernessPrints.com
Exposed Wildlife Conservancy: https://www.exposedwildlifeconservancy.org/
John’s Photography website: https://wildernessprints.com/
EWC on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSN6XzS07gO8xNxLWFGJY5Q
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Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).
No charges laid against cougar hunter, sparks outrage in Bow Valley, “Cougars should not be getting slaughtered in our province and our valley because of a WSF bounty. It’s both disgraceful and despicable.” by Cathy Ellis, Feb 27, 2025, Rocky Mountain Outlook
CANMORE – Alberta Fish and Wildlife has confirmed the cougar kittens left orphaned when the mamma cat was killed by hunters earlier in February near Canmore did in fact have spots, but argued there was not enough evidence to lay charges.
While cougars can be hunted in Alberta, the law is clear that it is illegal to hunt a young cougar with spotted fur, or a female cougar accompanied by a young cougar with spots.
A government statement said Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES) identified two factors that contributed to the determination that the Feb. 10 hunting death of a female cougar near Gap Lake “did not meet the threshold for an unlawful hunt” following a thorough review of the case.
“Importantly, FWES believes that the young cougars were not with their mother at the time the cougar was harvested,” read the statement from the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services under whose portfolio FWES falls.
“This factor was crucial in our assessment, as the absence of the young cougars during the hunting incident indicates that this was not a situation involving a dependent family unit.”
However, the Calgary Zoo, which took the two kittens in temporarily until a permanent home can be found, indicated otherwise.
“These little ones lost their mother and, at approximately 5-6 months old, wouldn’t have survived on their own,” according to the zoo’s social media post.
The FWES statement also said officers are aware of photographs showing faint spots on the kittens.
“These spots would likely not have been discernible in the forest environment during a hunting situation,” according to the statement.
“The lighting and distance in such settings often make such markings difficult or impossible to detect in real-time.”
The statement said FWES is committed to ensuring that hunting activities are conducted in accordance with all regulations, and the branch continues to monitor and investigate any potential violations. “However, at this time, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that an unlawful hunt occurred,” according to the statement.
“Anyone with further information on this matter can contact the Report-a-Poacher line or contact their local Fish and Wildlife office.”
This decision has sparked outrage in the Bow Valley, with local social media sites condemning the kill and lack of charges.
John Marriott, a prominent wildlife photographer and co-founder of Exposed Wildlife Conservancy who discovered the female cougar had been killed by hunters Feb. 10 and reported the orphaned cougars, said no charges being laid is “shocking news.”
He said the evidence he provided FWES from being on scene the day the female cougar was killed, and from tracking the next day, made it clear the kittens were in the area and had visited the bighorn sheep carcass before the hunters had.
Based on this, Marriott said he believes the hunters must have known there were kittens.
“The FWES statement essentially makes the Wildlife Act protection of female cougars with dependent spotted kittens useless and unenforceable, because any cougar hunter can claim they ‘didn’t see the kittens’,” he said.
“When I saw the kittens in person in a tree in daylight – which is when the hunt happened – it was immediately clear they were very young and had visible spots. It was also clear from tracking that the kittens were very small and young given their track size. “
Marriott is calling for the province to reopen the investigation.
“How does it go for you when you blast through a 30km zone at 75 km/h and tell the officer you ‘didn’t see the sign’? What is the point of having a female cougar with spotted kittens law if you can’t enforce it, or worse, won’t enforce it?”
Alberta’s 2012 cougar management plan estimated the province had a population of approximately 2,050 cougars, but the 2019 winter cougar season quota updates by the province’s own biologists reassessed cougar abundance in Alberta and found a population of 1,559 cougars.
Cougar quotas in some areas were reduced in 2022 to maintain target removal rates at 14 to 16 per cent.
The cougar management plan sets an objective to maintain a viable population of at least 1,500 cougars on provincial lands in Alberta. Based on the 2019 numbers, Alberta is already precariously close to the minimum viable population.
However, without consultation and in a decision not grounded in science, Alberta Parks and Forestry Minister Todd Loewen expanded the cougar hunt in Alberta last year. The province also allowed cougar hound hunting in more areas of Alberta.
There are two cougar management areas (CMAs) that include the Bow Valley – CMU 6, which has a quota of two females and two males. The southern portion of CMA 8 also overlaps with the Bow Valley. The quotas for CMA 8 are two males and one female.
The cougar hunting season is now closed in both CMA 6 and 8 because kills have been registered.
Marriott said he has heard that five female cats have been killed in the Bow Valley this hunting season and questioned whether cougar hunting here was being under-reported.
On Tuesday (Feb. 25), Minister Loewen’s press secretary, Alexandru Cioban, said so far this season, harvests for two male cougars and two female cougars have been registered in CMA 6 in the Bow Valley.
“Quotas for the area were closed for female cougars on February 11 and for male cougars on February 19,” said Cioban in an email.
“Under current regulations, harvested cougars must be registered within 24 hours of the harvest.”
The Outlook is awaiting confirmation if the cougars were hunted in the Bow Valley portion of CMA 8, as well as information on previous quotas before the changes last year.
Sarah Elmeligi, the NDP MLA for Banff-Kananaskis, said the female cougar quota for females has almost tripled across the province to 68, up from 24 last year.
“One of the things that is really hard about this is that the death of this mamma cougar, and her kittens being raised in captivity for the rest of their lives, is not only a loss of three cougars to this population but it’s a loss of every cougar kitten that she would have had in the future,” she said.
“All of that loss is because of decisions made by the minister of forestry and parks to open up cougar hunting across Alberta last year. Right now, there are quotas for 68 (female) cougars to be killed across the province and that’s triple what it was just over a year ago.”
Elmeligi said Loewen wants people to believe there is a human-wildlife conflict problem with cougars in this province, noting the cougar killed near Canmore had lived on the edge of town for years without incident.
“We’ve got a problem here in Alberta; we’ve got a minister who just really wants to go out and kill all of our wildlife,” she said.
“He’s doing it one species at a time by lifting one quota at a time. If that’s something that bothers you, let him know, let me know, and I’ll carry your concerns to the legislature.”
The Wild Sheep Foundation Alberta has new initiatives for its 2024-25 cougar program requirements, paying out up to $3,000 for a cougar kill, with an additional $1,000 if the cougar is female.
The foundation will also pay up to $7,000 if the cougar is killed in several specific wildlife management units (WMU), which does include WMU 410, which takes in the Bow Valley.
As part of the bounty, the hunter must present GPS data, elevation and pictures or video of the hunt and kill location. A picture of the GPS at the kill location with coordinates clearly displayed, is mandatory, with a photo of the wild cat in the background. Proof of sex is also required.
To qualify for the bounties being paid out, the hunter must be a current member in good standing of the WSFA.
It is not known if the hunter who killed the cougar at Gap Lake is a member of the WSFA.
A spokesperson for the WSFA was not immediately available.
“This is deemed legal in this province. That is not acceptable,” Marriott said.
“Cougars should not be getting slaughtered in our province and our valley because of a WSF bounty. It’s both disgraceful and despicable.”
Marriott said cougars are an integral part of wild space, apex predators at the top of the food chain, fully capable of managing or self-regulating their own populations biologically.
“They are keystone species, meaning they affect huge parts of ecosystems despite there being so few of them on the landscape,” he said.
“In short, without them, our wilderness is empty.”
Wanda L:
What a crock of hooey! Not enough evidence! The kits were orphaned. How much more evidence do they need?!
Rebecca I:
Exactly! Especially when there are literal photos and videos.
Of course the kittens weren’t with their mother! I’d flee if I was a kitten being chased by dogs and people.
Hunters are required to use binoculars! Binoculars would show the spots. If they didn’t do that, that’s negligence on their part.
Lesley Whitfield:
I can’t believe this is allowed to happen.
J Pyecroft:
If Marriott has clear evidence that the hunters knew the kittens were there, he should present it. But from what’s reported, his claim is assumption, not proof. Wildlife tracking after the fact doesn’t confirm what the hunters saw at the time. If the law isn’t being enforced properly, then demand transparency—but without evidence, how does an investigation move forward?
Calling this “ideological” is also misleading. Managing wildlife populations—whether you agree with the policy or not—isn’t ideology. Real ideology is the Town of Canmore’s attack on second-home owners, justified by moral arguments rather than economic evidence. Wildlife policy is a political decision, not an ideological one. Disagreeing with a policy doesn’t make it ideological—but imposing rules based on moral beliefs rather than practical governance does. If the concern is transparency, push for data on Alberta’s cougar population and accountability in quota-setting.
Jane Cameron:
Sickening, sounds like Smith is placing inexperienced ministers in areas that they should not be in control of. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Like maybe our neighbours to the south?
Alberta’s cougar harvest policy doesn’t track by By Mark Bradley and Bob Covey, Feb 14, 2025, Jasper local
Alberta’s cougar harvest policy doesn’t track
Last week, while checking some of his trail cameras near Canmore’s Gap Lake, conservationist and wildlife photographer John E. Marriott came upon a cougar kill.
Marriott thought it was his lucky day: a big horned sheep carcass meant the elusive cats were likely nearby, and paw prints surrounding the dead animal confirmed this wasn’t just one cougar, but a family.
“I was super excited, I thought ‘I might have a chance [to photograph the cougars],’” Marriott told the Real Talk Ryan Jespersen show on February 13.
But then he noticed he wasn’t the only one interested in the kill site. Marriott saw three trucks, one of which belonged to a guided hunting outfit.
“It was cougar hunters,” he told Jespersen. “With a cougar hound box in the back of one.”
The next day, Marriott went back to the area on Grotto Mountain to follow the tracks. Eventually, he came upon his worst fears: spattered blood from the mother cougar, and kitten tracks leading away from the site. He could see where the hunters loaded their sled and dragged their trophy back down the hill. He felt sick.
“There was a tremendous feeling of sorrow. This was a cougar I tracked for four winters.”
Even more shocking was finding not one, but two sets of kitten tracks.
“That was just extraordinarily demoralizing. It’s just really unsettling to know that unfortunately this is legal in Alberta right now.”
The Grotto Mountain zone is within the Canmore cougar management area. Meanwhile, the Alberta chapter of the U.S.-based Wild Sheep Foundation offers guiding outfits up to $7,000 to eradicate female cougars, ostensibly so there are more sheep to hunt.
A big part of Marriott’s objection to cougar harvesting is the way the animals are killed. Big cat hunters use specially-trained, GPS-collared hounds to track their prey.
When the dogs lock onto a cougar, they chase them to exhaustion, until the cat finally climbs a tree. At that point the hunter can locate the hounds using his GPS device, walk to where the signal is transmitting from, and blast their “trophy” out of the tree.
“It’s reprehensible and completely unsporting,” Marriott told the Jasper Local in 2021.
Last year, with four days to go in the cougar hunting season, Todd Loewen, Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks and (until recently) the owner of an outfitting company, increased the provincial cougar hunting quota. The increase—from 96 to 136—was entirely for female cats.
More recently, on December 1, 2024, Loewen used a Ministerial Order to essentially maintain this quota (it’s now 133) for the 2024/25 season. That same order dramatically increased the area where cougars could be hunted, even including two provincial parks, Castle and Cypress Hills.
This all begs the question: Why?
Notwithstanding the radio silence The Jasper Local has received from Loewen’s office, the minister has stated in interviews that his goal is to reduce cougar numbers in Alberta.
“We feel that 1,500 is a good viable cougar population,” he told CBC Radio . But that’s not what his government’s own management plan says.
Conservationists paying attention to Alberta’s war on cougars know that the the province has a cougar management plan, and a fairly good one at that. The plan was first created in 2012, and two updates, in 2019 and 2022, upheld the plan’s principles to A) maintain at least 1,500 cougars in the population and B) to ensure that human-caused mortality be less than 20 percent of that population.
Sex-specific quotas were established for each of the province’s 32 Cougar Management Areas (CMAs) and CMAs within provincial parks were off limits to hunters.
The original plan also called for adaptive management, meaning that each CMA will be reviewed every three years, to be adjusted if the human-caused mortality rates were not in line with the plan’s objectives.
The problem is that harvest goals rely entirely on having good population estimates. And similar to those for wolverines—Alberta’s population estimates for cougars are far from good. This is almost unavoidable: cougars are extremely shy, live in dense forests and are difficult and expensive to count.
What the province has done to get those estimates is to simply take density (cougars per square-kilometre, mostly measured elsewhere), and multiplied it by the area (kms-sq) of Alberta cougar habitat.
This simplistic formula resulted in an estimate of 2,051 cats in 2012. In 2019, the habitat number was adjusted, equating to a more-realistic number of 1,559, but either way, the cougar count was arrived at without actually counting any cougars!
Now the minister is claiming that Alberta has more than 2,000 cougars, but without providing any evidence or rationale for the increase. In his CBC interview, he incorrectly claimed that the 2,000+ figure was from the management plan, despite the 2019 update spelling out clearly that the number was 1,559.
If we don’t have annual cougar numbers, we can’t say if the population is going up or down, and we certainly can’t draw conclusions on the sustainability of harvest numbers—particularly while a hunting season is ongoing. Minister Loewen must have known the futility of trying to convince his biologists of that bad logic, because on March 28, 2024 he signed a decree that allowed changes to the quotas at any time (not just after careful consideration between seasons), giving him the authority to jack up the quota increase by 40 female cougars less than a week before the season ended.
Big cat trophy hunters covet big cats, so it makes sense to accommodate those who hunt to allow for the harvest of male cougars. Yet the 40 cougar quota increase was specifically for female cats. Targeting females is a sure way to cause population decline, which is good if you’re a sheep hunter, I suppose, but this policy directly contravenes the government’s cougar management plan (without consultation, it begs repeating).
The plan’s original goal was to provide mostly male cougars for harvest because it dually satisfies the demand for big cats and has the least impact on the cougar population. It is a co-incidence that while all this is going on, the Wild Sheep Foundation has offered an additional bounty of $1,000 for each female cougar killed?
In addition to increasing the kill quota on female cougars, the minister also decreed that hunting will be allowed in provincial parks. This order is a slap in the face to the very idea of protected areas—sanctuaries which provide some insurance against possible population declines in the areas where hunting is allowed.
Why does the minister think that 2,000 cougars in Alberta is a problem? From 2012 to 2019, 2,000 was the official population estimate and no one batted an eye. He mentioned a desire to reduce problem cougars in that same CBC interview, but a quick look at Alberta’s own data shows that problem cougar kills have been declining. Also, a 30-year study of cougars in B.C. has shows that cougar hunting increases conflict with people.
There are several problems with the goal of reducing cougars by 500 animals. First, as mentioned, we don’t have a good idea of how many cougars there are in Alberta. Second, the management plan clearly states that 1,500 cougars is the minimum number required—if we’re below that, we have problems. The minister conveniently switching out this minimum to a maximum, with no consultation or rational, is highly problematic. Any layman can understand that if a key component of a management plan is going to be changed, you need solid evidence and should undergo proper consultation (as was done in 2012). Because Loewen won’t return anyone’s calls on the subject, we have no idea where the new estimate of 2,000 cougars even comes from.
But we can guess. Until recently, Loewen owned an outfitting business. And although he has divested himself of any shares in the company (and has been cleared by the ethics commissioner, according to him), the company is still operated by his wife and their son.
Since June of 2023, Loewen has instituted a grizzly bear hunt, completely removed trapping quotas from wolverine, otter, lynx and fisher, and has now significantly increased the cougar kill quota.
“It generally indicates they are going above and beyond their biologists when they made ministerial orders like this,” Marriott told Real Talk on February 13.
And by not getting back to reporters asking questions on behalf of the public, Loewen is clearly not bothering to consult the average Albertan.
How much pressure was there to institute these wide-ranging and drastic changes to wildlife management? Is this just currying favour with the UCP’s rural voting block? Or is it even more nepotistic than that? If Loewen has better reasons, as Marriott says: show us the science.
Apparently, he can’t. So how about, instead of letting trophy hunters have their way with Alberta’s apex predators, let’s instead take aim at unaccountable wildlife management and non-transparent, poor government.
Contact the Minister and let him know how you feel about how he’s managing cougars in Alberta.
To learn more about John E. Marriott’s conservation efforts, including the current plight of the two orphaned cougar kittens, follow him on Instagram and check out his wildlife conservancy, Exposed.
Letters: Lack of respect for wildlife on full display in Alberta
Re: Alberta’s cougar harvest policy doesn’t track (Jasper Local, February 14, 2025).
February 19, 2025
Dear Editor:
As a retired community newspaper publisher, taking a compliment on a good piece or editorial is something that I used to shy away from.
That said, Bradley and Covey deserve a tip-of-the hat for a well balanced and researched piece “Alberta’s cougar harvest policy doesn’t track.”
My wife and I are involved in one of the groups protesting Minister Todd Loewen’s plan to reduce the population of the wild mountain horses through cull, capture and contraception. On very, very rare occasions, Loewen has commented (usually through his press secretary Alexandru Cioban) to a Facebook post, but the information provided is more of sidestep dance.
Just when I thought balanced journalism was going the way of wildlife in Alberta under Todd Loewen, I read the piece by Bradley and Covey (which John Marriott posted on his page) and I was convinced otherwise.
Thanks for that.
Sincerely,
Daniel Pagé
Rosetown, SK (formerly Medicine Hat)
Alberta’s harvest policies, and unhearing politicians, need to go
Dear Premier Smith and Minister Todd Loewen,
I am absolutely appalled by your complete lack of respect for biodiversity in Alberta, as evidenced by your destructive policies regarding the killing of sacred wild animals that deserve the utmost respect and care: grizzlies, wolverines, cougars, otter, lynx, and fisher.
Mr. Loewen, the fact that your wife and son still run your hunting company shows that you benefit from these policies and have created them for your personal gain.
What is the point? To have the carcass of a sacred living being on your wall to gather dust instead of future generations having living animals?
You all need to resign so Alberta can have true leadership to protect our province’s values and save wildlife.
With grave concern for your greed,
Dr. Angela Grace,
Calgary, AB
MUST WATCH! John Marriott (starts at 3:30 Min.) interviewed on Real Talk Ryan Jesperson Show is riveting:
Video at link: Wildlife photographer believes cougar kittens orphaned near Canmore after mother killed by hunters by Teri Fikowski, February 13, 2025, CTV News
An Alberta wildlife photographer and conservationist is sharing on social media what he believes to be the site where a mother cougar was hunted and killed on Grotto Mountain, orphaning two kittens, in hopes of garnering attention to recent changes to hunting regulation in Alberta.
John E. Marriott had been tracking a mother cougar in the area for the past four years as part of a project and book with the EXPOSED Wildlife Conservancy, which he co-founded.
On Monday, he was checking trail cameras along Highway 1A near Gap Lake, just outside Canmore, when he discovered a bighorn sheep carcass with cougar and kitten tracks surrounding it and a hunting group nearby.
“It was three big trucks full of men with big cougar hound boxes in the back, so I immediately feared they’ve went and killed this cougar,” he said.
He returned to the area the next day and discovered evidence of a kill, including a trail of blood, tracks from a trailer and dogs, and grown cougar and kitten prints in the snow.
“To actually go up and see the spot and see all the blood there and know that is where she died, I mean, I just can’t imagine the terror she must have gone through being chased by those dogs, separated from her kittens, and then sitting up in a tree while someone shoots her with a bow and arrow,” he said.
“It was just one of the most demoralizing moments of my career.”
Marriott tracked and caught the kittens on one of his trail cameras, without their mother, and has submitted it to Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
The Ministry of Forestry and Parks said Alberta Fish and Wildlife are in the early stages of an investigation.
“Four cougars have been harvested in the Bow Valley this hunting season by licensed Alberta residents. The four harvests did not involve non-resident hunters. These harvests have been registered with Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES), and officers are inspecting the cougars to determine if they have been taken in accordance with current hunting regulations,” the ministry said.
“Additionally, FWES is currently investigating reports of two young cougars spotted alone near Canmore. If the reports are confirmed, FWES officers will work to capture the young cougars and will work closely with officials from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas to determine the best course of action for them moving forward.
“As the investigation is ongoing, we are unable to release further details at this stage.”
While the ages of the kittens are unknown, based on his footage and track measurements, Marriott and other wildlife biologists estimate the pair of kittens are three and a half to five months old.
“They have no chance of surviving on their own. So, the next steps are trying to figure out with Alberta Fish and Wildlife if we can get them into a zoo or a rescue shelter, or (if) we let nature take its course,” he said.
“But unfortunately, nature hasn’t taken its course up until this point.”
Marriott believes the suspected hunt is the result of lax regulations around hunting in Alberta and recent changes around cougars in particular.
Mainly the monstrous evil of “pro-life” killer, Todd Loewen.
Last year, the province expanded where cougars could be hunted with six additional designated cougar management areas.
It also more than doubled how many female cougars can be harvested.
Marriott said the large bounties private companies put on female cougars compound the issue.
“When you target the females in particular, it lowers the population substantially, and this can actually be really bad and really detrimental to ecosystems. They are ecosystem engineers, they are apex predators, they are top of the food chain; you take them out, and there can be all kinds of cumulative effects that can affect this ecosystem right around Canmore right now,” he said.
Alberta’s Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen has defended the changes around cougar regulations, saying the population in the province had reached about 2,000, while an ideal population is 1,500.
While many Alberta ranchers and hunters have supported the regulation changes, the numbers don’t sit well with conservation groups, who cite the last available public data in 2019 that estimates there were around 1,500 cougars across the province.
“All of the evidence has been pointing to the conflict becoming worse when there is hunting, and that seems to disagree with what the minister has been saying about this protecting livestock or reducing conflict,” said Ruiping Luo with the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA).
“Our concerns have been the lack of transparency and lack of any evidence to support these decisions.”
The calls for change come as Loewen travelled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to attend the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo to promote the minister’s special licences for cougars and other animals, including elk, mule deer, moose, pronghorn, and turkey.The fucking USA has threatened Canada and all Canadians, and this fucker douche pro-lifer chases Americans with guns to come to Canada to kill to make his company money!? Fuck, shut this quisling UCP asshole and his business down. No America ought to be allowed into Canada with guns as long as USA threatens us and our country. Confiscate all the guns. Better yet, Americans, stay out you murdering fuckers.
“This minister is supposed to be in charge of and protecting our wildlife, and instead he’s out there promoting people to come and kill it, and he’s doing this under the disguise of conservation,” Marriott said.
Loewen’s background as a hunter and trapper has been called into question as a conflict of interest ever since the Wildlife Management Division was transferred to his department.
In his 2022 annual public disclosure to the Ethics Commissioner of Alberta, Loewen again reported receiving dividends from Red Willow Outfitters in Valleyview, which offers guided hunts for bears, deer, moose, elk and wolves.
Loewen’s office has denied the minister’s actions are a conflict of interest and he has been cleared by the Ethics Commissioner of Alberta.The killing conflict of interest is obvious. Same as with Dildo Danielle Smith and anti public health Minister of Health Lagrunge. That means nothing. Ethics don’t exist in that cowardly piece of fake shit Commissioner’s Office
Marriott and the AWA say the recent hunting changes around other animals in Alberta further reflect bias, including the decision to lift trapping limits on wolverines and other fur-bearing animals and the decision to allow a targeted hunt on problem grizzly bears after a nearly 20-year ban on hunting the threatened species.
“Our wildlife management is still stuck back in 1950,” said Marriot, who’s hopeful his videos of the cougar family will raise awareness and lead to change.
“I’m hoping this is going to be a catalyst for people,” he added.
“Phone the ethics commissioner, phone Minister Loewen’s office, phone your MLA; let’s get the policies and regulations changed so you can’t kill females with kittens, period.”
***
Jenna Fraser:
If this was completely legal then the laws need to be changed, thats what your constituents are saying. Your statement is so out of touch and delusional and trying to fear monger people with headlines rather than providing literally any data really says it all. We’re not dumb like whoever wrote this statement, try harder.
Elizabeth M. Ginn:
What kind of mind/mentality enjoys killing innocent animals? Leaves babies without their Moms and they die from starvation?
@LoisRobb1:
What the hell is a cougar ‘harvest’…?The murderers are trying to make their killings more socially acceptable, like frac’ers changing hydraulic fracturing to stimulation after masses of drinking water contamination cases were publicly reported while industry kept lying, saying there had never been a case of the oil and gas industry contaminating groundwater, then, well water, then, tap water
@MondoABx:
In this case, murder.
So “sporting”, dogs and the cat gets treed and .. murdered.
And Todd Loewen makes money off this.In direct conflict of interest of his MLA position.
@intell59:
So he should. This is continuation of corruption as he owns a hunting business. There was no need for a hunt. Disgusting human beings imo.
@MondoABx:
Slaughtering predators is poor ecology.
Todd Loewen
rdoSonspetic562l336481t0g5886130h68ta697mhhlfhggah14m663g8a1 ·
There’s been some recent talk about cougar hunting in the Bow Valley, and I’d like to clear up a few misconceptions. Four cougars have been harvested this hunting season by licensed Alberta residents, and these harvests did not involve non-resident hunters.
The harvests have been properly registered with Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES), and officers are involved in inspecting cougar harvests to ensure they comply with current hunting regulations.
Cougars are wild animals, they can grow up to 200 pounds, and are skilled ambush predators. As with all wildlife in Alberta, cougar populations need to be managed, and hunting plays a key role in that. Hunting regulations and quotas are regularly updated to help prevent human-cougar conflicts, which can increase if populations are left unchecked – and it’s something many Albertans are well familiar with.
Managing predator populations is also an important part of protecting threatened species like caribou, and big game animals like bighorn sheep, moose, and elk.
At the same time, it’s important to note that hunting young cougars with spotted fur, or females accompanied by young cougars with spotted fur, is illegal.
FWES is currently investigating reports of two young cougars seen alone near Canmore. Since the investigation is ongoing, we aren’t able to share more details at this time.
Refer also to: