A new bill in the Washington Senate aims to stop a controversial policy in Klickitat County, where the sheriff deputized six hound handlers to track and kill any cougars he deemed to be a safety threat.

In 2019, Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer established the posse who are dispatched to calls about cougar concerns in the area. The sheriff’s wildlife policy on dangerous wildlife has angered conservationists who worry it harms the state’s cougar population.

Now, Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, wants to take the hound hunts out of the hands of the sheriff and give the authority to state wildlife enforcement officers.

“I’ll be totally honest, this is about Klickitat County and Sheriff Songer potentially doing some more sporting hunts using dogs than hunting down what the state or feds would consider dangerous cougars,” Van De Wege said at a Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources and Parks committee hearing Tuesday.

If signed into law, SB 5613 would remove one word from an earlier version of the bill. The removal of that one word – county – would mean a sheriff’s department must notify and work with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife before deputized hound handlers pursued cougars.

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