La Fish and Game Commission of the New Hampshire approved yesterday, Wednesday 17 February 2016, the season of lynx hunting and capture after more than 25 years. The vote in favor of the proposal, which was strongly opposed, was not taken for granted and in fact there was a lot of uncertainty until the last second: there were five votes in favor of the hunting season and four against. At this point, fifty hunting permits will be granted, to be assigned through a draw system. As for the period, the start of the catch is scheduled for next December, while in January 2017 the actual hunt will begin.
In any case, the Commission's decision will have to be examined by a specific legislative committee for any revisions. Lynx hunting seasons are a reality in three other US states, viz Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts, not forgetting the Canadian province of Quebec: New Hampshire, however, is the only state that has proposed very specific limitations.
According to opponents, there is no need for lynx hunting, and there is also the concern that animals are being killed for their skins, with the risk that the population could decrease significantly. On the contrary, supporters have relied on some scientific studies, according to which lynxes are not compatible with the survival of agricultural crops, therefore it would be necessary to slow their growth. In 1989 the number of these animals dropped to 200 and in that case New Hampshire decided to protect them and to ban hunting and trapping.
Recently, however, it has been discovered that lynxes had increased to 1400 (last winter) and 2200 (last summer). Some members of the State Commission had suggested waiting a few more years to start a season of this type, in the end the opposite thesis prevailed. There are also those who have calculated that hunting for lynxes will cost the Fish and Game Department from 10 thousand to 12 thousand dollars, financial resources that cannot be wasted in the current moment of crisis.
Other constituents are confident that future scientific studies will provide useful and important details about animals and successive hunting seasons. The commissioner's comment was different Robert Phillipson, according to which wild turkeys disappeared from the state only to reappear in the 1975 resulting in hunting limits similar to those for the lynx.