Editor:
I was sickened to read of the intention to kill two healthy young cougars that have done no harm (“Cougar trap set in Gibsons,” June 12). I once believed Sunshine Coasters respected the land we live on, the creatures we share it with.
I was wrong.
The murder of these cougars, the ongoing killing of bears (we killed more bears in the early part of last year than Whistler does annually because we can’t be bothered to bear-proof our communities and take responsibility for our garbage), the seemingly endless destruction of finite forest ... We wilfully persist in our destructive antiquated attitudes, behaving as if it’s still the blithely-ignorant 1950s.
These animals pose virtually no risk to us. In the past 100 years, five people have been killed in B.C. by cougars. Five. Domestic dogs kill more people than cougars. As do cars, boats, alcohol, and guns. This is their home. They are neighbours, not criminals. Yet our language and decisions make it clear that simply by existing they have committed a crime.
Once spotted, they are “reported.” Once reported, they are sentenced to death. Even though there is a significant body of scientific evidence suggesting that killing cougars does little if anything to reduce conflicts. And these animals have a right to their existence. We choose to live here. They have nowhere else to go. It is entirely possible to live alongside them peaceably (if in doubt, visit www.cougarfund.org). And if we choose not to, unlike them, we’re free to move. The onus for peaceful coexistence is on us.
I’m sure this letter will do nothing to save these cougars or change anything on this Coast. We will wilfully persist in our outdated and insupportable attitudes. Shame on us.
E. Carpentier, Gibsons
