Thorburn listens to people

Kim Thorburn listened to the citizens in Northeast Washington and voted to allow the use of hounds to chase cougars for training purposes (chase only) and possibly reinstall the fear of man that cougars have lost.

She heard of a child’s 4-H project being killed, miniature donkeys killed, numerous other farm animals being killed or severely injured, pets in back yards killed and people being stalked by the big cats, how the cougar numbers have exploded in northeast Washington since hound hunting was banned, to the point there are four or more times the number of cougars as back then, the ever-increasing number of calls to WDFW and the sheriff concerning predation or threatening behavior.

She heard loud and clear of the fear that pets, livestock, and loved ones were under severe threat. Worse yet, she heard about a child attacked in Leavenworth’s city park that if not for the parents’ dogs may not have survived.

For this she has been attacked by Chris Bachman, Claire Loebs Davis and others with statements such as “I do not understand how we claim to be science-based, when we are killing every single cat in certain areas,” and other misinformation.

I am thankful Kim listened to the people who know the facts, who are impacted by the large increase in cougars, and not by others who live on an island in Puget Sound or California or the cloud somewhere and think they know what’s best for Northeast Washington, without having to worry about which animal they might lose tonight.

Dale Magart

Deer Park