This Facebook post shows a person posing with the cougar. The Conservation office said numerous people had been photographed with the animal and they could not confirm if the person in this image was the trapper.  

By Nicole Reis

Cougar Trapped

Trapper snares cougar near Makwa

Jan 6, 2020 | 5:40 PM

A licensed trapper near Makwa trapped a cougar in a power snare according to Saskatchewan Conservation officers.

Glen Kurjata, a Conservation Officer Service inspector in Meadow Lake, said the protected cat was trapped sometime between Dec. 18 and 21 in the Divide Forest near Makwa Pasture.

“A Northern Fur Conservation Area Trapper caught a large cougar and there have been numerous people that have taken their picture with it,” Kurjata said.

A photo circulating on Twitter recently is not confirmed to be the trapper though Conservation Authorities say the animal was lawfully captured and reported to the appropriate authorities.

Kurjata went on to say cats which are inadvertently caught through a snare must be reported to the Ministry of the Environment. Previous legislation required animals to be turned in to the ministry though changes to legislation within the last two years allow Northern Fur Conservation Trappers to keep the animals themselves.

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“Cougars are a protected species but they are allowed for a trapper. If a cougar is trapped inadvertently by a trapper they must contact the ministry to report it. This one was lawfully reported,” Kurjata said.

Kurjata said there is no investigation into the rare capture and the animal was not shot but likely perished in the power snare.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722