Since the cougars showed no sign that they were hunting pets or children, how was this a matter of urgent public safety?
And, why would anyone think that a bit of mild hazing is going to drive a mother cougar from an easy food source when she has three young ones to feed?
Whatever happened to rubber bullets? Oh, I suppose they aren’t allowed in residential areas because of that all-purpose excuse, public safety. If that is the case, why not simply exclude the public from an area as the police do for the time needed to catch someone, or whatever?
If the animals had been seen for quite some time before they were killed (euthanized is such a euphemistic term), why wasn’t aggressive action taken much sooner, as in rubber bullets or some equivalent?
For all the nice sentiments expressed, it comes down to wildlife having little value in their own right as living creatures to our society, even those not directly threatening humans — unless of course they can be shot and their heads or skins hung on a wall.
And in case it matters, yes, I have spent a good amount of time in the homes of cougars, grizzlies, elk, you name it.
Eva Durance, Penticton
