Franklin teen unfazed by note condemning lion hunt

[brucefamily6]

107. FACTS

I am sure the information you shared you thought was correct but that is not the fact. As Holden's mother I can tell you we have seen cougars (puma) in our area of Nebraska. We live 6 hours East and South of the Pine Ridge area. We are lifelong Nebraskans and have interactions with cougars our entire lives. My husband has witnessed a cougar by our mailbox and again down our gravel road, my mother came upon one in her car, my children and I witnessed one on the republican river, my children ran into one riding a go-cart on our land next to our house and a farmer just to our North was ran up onto his irrigation pivot by one and that was this year alone. The info you had about the fragile population is most incorrect.
The two permits given out for the first hunt with dogs allowed will hardly decrease the population. The next 100 permits given out do not allow dogs and as any educated hunter would know the chance for tracking and bagging a cougar without dogs is almost non-virtual. Ergo the population again will not decrease. Cougars are however dangerous if approach or accidentally stumbled upon and the population is so much so that our children are educated on what to do if the see one. Again- not a fragile population isolated to pine ridge. They also harm livestock and pets.
Many animal activists are meaning well but are mislead at times with incorrect information. Just because you call game and parks with a cougar report does not mean they mark it down and acknowledge a cougar population. You pretty much have to drag the dead body to their doorstep to get them to acknowledge it and those of us who live here all know that.
Thank You