02/22/2025
This is an upsetting situation if you feel the pull the write in please do! These poor kittens will now spend a life time in a zoo because of these humans.
Feeling Broken hearted 💔
In shocking news, many of you may have already seen that Alberta F&W has already ruled (as of last Monday) that this was a legal hunt of the female cougar.
It was NOT. It is unlawful in Alberta to hunt female cougars with spotted kittens. So now it’s going to be YOU that I need to help get this investigation re-opened. I need all of you calling Minister Mike Ellis, who runs Fish & Wildlife, at 403-216-5439. Also email the Ethics Commissioner and NDP MLA Sarah Elmeligi to investigate this further ([email protected], [email protected]).
Here’s what I told F&W in a nutshell. I found the bighorn carcass AND adult cougar and cougar kitten tracks at 2:15 pm along Hwy 1A near Canmore on Monday, February 10th. I saw several men just after 3 pm, returning through the woods dragging something and with their dogs. At 4 pm, when they left, I confirmed that they were cougar hunters and saw the cougar hound box and three big trucks, each full of men, including one that I recognized.
I then spoke to the property owner and was told the outfitter guide had said his name was JJ and that he was with the Wild Sheep Foundation. It got dark, so I returned at dawn the next morning and tracked the sled tracks up the hill away from where the bighorn carcass had been. There were dog and human tracks everywhere. There were also cougar and kitten tracks EVERYWHERE, including countless day old kitten tracks as old as the dog and human tracks (I am an extremely good cat tracker).
I found three sites where cougar/s had been treed. At the final one was where the female cougar died. 750m from the highway. I found blood, broken branches, garbage on the ground, a dog leash laying on the snow. A place where the sled had been loaded with something heavy.
That night, my trail cam captured two young kittens on it in between the kill site and the bighorn site. I sent statements and photos to both COs and F&Ws officers and continued to do so for the next week.
Two days later, Thursday, Feb 13th, I accompanied two F&W investigators to collect DNA, look over the scene and follow the 3-day old tracks, and then they set up two traps to capture the little kittens. Note that I also went back and collected DNA for myself afterward ‘just in case.’
On Friday afternoon, while on site with permission from F&W, I saw the kittens in a tree in the daylight and was able to 100% confirm they had spots. I sent my pictures to the world’s foremost cougar expert, Dr. Mark Elbroch, he replied, “100% those are spotted kittens. 100%.” The Calgary Zoo vet and the F&W officer also confirmed the kittens have spots.
Friday, Feb 14th at 9:30 pm the orphaned kittens walked into a trap. On the Saturday, I already started hearing rumblings that the investigation was going to get dropped. By Monday, a media statement was released saying the hunt was deemed legal. No further media explanation has been given since, despite repeated requests from media.
Does this sound legal to you? How does it go with you when you blast through a 30-zone at 75 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?
Let's get this army moving, people! Call and email!
