Bobcats in California have been safe from recreational hunting since 2020. Now that protection could be up for debate again. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has released a draft plan for managing the state’s bobcats, and the public has until November 1, 2026, to weigh in. CDFW should make its final plan clear: the ban on recreational bobcat hunting stays.

In 2019, California lawmakers passed the Bobcat Protection Act. The law ended recreational bobcat hunting starting in 2020. It also required CDFW to finish a conservation and management plan before hunting could ever be considered again. That plan is now open for comment.

The draft plan does not bring hunting back on its own. But it could guide future decisions by the California Fish and Game Commission, the board with the power to approve a new hunting season. According to the animal protection group In Defense of Animals, some hunting advocates are already urging supporters to push for bobcat hunting to return.

CDFW estimates that more than 62,000 bobcats live across California and describes the statewide population as fairly steady. A steady population is not a reason to start killing these wild cats for sport. Bobcats already face real dangers. Cars hit them on roads, diseases like mange make them sick, and new development breaks up the land they depend on. Even when the statewide count looks steady, some local bobcat populations can still struggle.

Rather than opening the door to hunting, the final plan should focus on protecting habitat, reducing preventable deaths, tracking bobcats more closely, and helping people live alongside these native predators. Bobcats help keep rodent numbers in check and are part of what keeps California’s wild places healthy.

Sign the petition to tell CDFW to keep bobcat hunting banned in its final plan, before public comments close on November 1.