It’s been six years since Illinois legalized bobcat hunting, on the strength of wild and unscientific hyperbole that the shy, nocturnal animals — at 15 to 30 pounds, not much bigger than a large house cat — are ferocious creatures comparable to saber-toothed tigers.
Since then, state data from last month shows that nearly 1,700 bobcats have been killed by hunting or trapping, which commonly involves the use of inhumane steel-jawed traps that clamp down on an animal’s paw.
