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Pastimes : Let’s Talk About Our Feelings about the Let’s Talk About Our -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ManyMoose who wrote (4672)	4/8/2008 12:51:00 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5290

Cougar killing being investigated Sylvia MacBean for the Leader-Post Tuesday, April 08, 2008 ARCOLA -- Protecting family members from a prowling cougar has cost an Arcola-area man his rifle, says Val Lees. The Arcola-area woman says that recently when her family and neighbours were gathered at the rural home of Don Lees mourning the accidental death of a 17-year-old family member, a cougar appeared in the yard. "It was like the cougar was stalking us," Lees said. After a neighbour, Harvey Holloway, was able to get in his truck, he drove home and returned with his hunting rifle. When he returned, the cougar was still pacing outside the house. Lees said Holloway shot the cougar -- and she's angry because she says his gun has been confiscated by Saskatchewan Environment conservation officers. "We were terrified. The children were playing out in the farmyard. We brought everyone inside along with the cats and dogs. The cougar just stood there watching the house," she said. "Now, people are calling and when I go to Arcola, I am stopped on the street and they say the cougar should not have been shot. I feel the safety of my family, my children, my grandchildren and my neighbours takes priority over that cougar." Val and Duncan Lees live within a kilometre of Don Lees' rural home and raise purebred Hereford cattle. "Two nights before our old farm dog was anxious to get in the house. He never wants inside the house. We knew something was wrong outside," Val said. The next morning she noticed the dog's dish was empty. Lees wonders if the cougar may have been on her deck. "The conservation officers say the cougar is on the endangered species list. I think prairie farmers and their families should be on the list as well. Our cattle and their newborn calves out there in the corral are our livelihood. They need to be safe and secure," she said. "I phoned the conservation officers and said that I feel it was unfair that they took away my neighbour's gun. If we are scared of a dangerous wild animal that is out in our yard at 2 a.m. who are we going to call? "The conservation officer said we should call the (Turn In Poachers) line and someone in Prince Albert will answer and they will send a conservation officer out to deal with it. I would rather call my neighbour who lives a couple miles away to come with his gun. He knows how to shoot and he knows where I live. If I had to wait for someone to come from an hour away and if a predator was in our corral would we have any livestock left? I would feel safer if my neighbour had his gun back." Meanwhile, Sask Environment conservation officers are continuing their investigation of the shooting of the cougar. canada.com