Hi everyone,

It is with a heavy heart that I bear news of Mama's death.  This beautiful, mild-mannered bobcat has been a joy and inspiration to so many people and the Sweetwater Wetlands will no longer be the same without her presence.  She is already dearly missed.  I feel pain in thinking of her last weeks of life, constricted by this dreadful collar and reserve hope that her kitten has acquired the skills necessary to survive.

According to the email leaked from BIT, Mama was found approximately 20 feet deep in a drain pipe with severe wounds of unknown origin.  Allegedly, her collar signal transmitted a location on December 23 (one month and 6 days after this 8-year-old cat was captured and collared).  By December 26, she had not moved in 3 days and BIT decided to investigate, confirming Mama's death.

Whether or not her capture and collaring directly killed this wonderful creature, we will probably never know.  What we do know with certainty is that the awful experience of being trapped, contained, separated from her kitten, and forced into a collar dramatically impacted Mama's behavior.  By changing her behavior, the BIT study DID contribute to Mama's death and the data they collected IS flawed.

I do find solace in knowing that Mama's death at least brought an end to her  suffering on behalf of BIT's precious data.  We can not bring her back, but we can make a stand to ensure that her death, in addition to those deaths of the 9 other collared cats were not in vain.  There are still many living cats bound by these horrific collars!

My next step is to contact Arizona Game and Fish to request they promptly revoke BIT's "research" permit.  This petition may be a strong influencer in showing AZ Game and Fish our unity.

Thank you once again for making a stand to protect our sentient wild creatures!

Ian Adrian