The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission banned the “canned” hunting of mountain lions and implemented a 36-hour trap check standard after the south-central counties of Texas voiced concern on Sept. 1, according to the Austin American Statesman. Texas has long been the most lenient state regarding this topic, and this is the first legislation on the issue.

Canned hunting – or the trophy hunting practice of keeping game animals in a fenced area to hunt down, often by using hounds – has been entirely banned for mountain lions as of the beginning of September. Additionally, for fear of mountain lions dying in traps, any set traps large enough to catch these creatures must be checked every 36 hours. To defy either constraint is a Class C misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500 according to the Texas Tribune. 

Part of the cause behind the ban is the hatred for canned hunting from people both in and outside of the hunting hobby.

“[Canned hunting] is like someone cooking a frozen dinner and calling themself a chef,” Biology teacher Richard Muenich. “That’s really what it is. They’re not cooking it, they’re warming it up. But canned hunting is worse, they have something that they want people to think muy muchisimo, muy macho, right? No, you didn’t. Someone captured that for you, they put it in a pin and you shot it, you are a repugnant human being, in my opinion.”

Though there were calls for change long before, things officially changed with a meeting conducted by the Texas Park and Wildlife Commission last May. The commission unanimously voted to put the new measures into place, though some outside the organization have spoken against it.

“The only way I can kind of understand is with the farms,” junior Zoey Herbert said. “You want to protect your animals.”

The exact legislation does not prevent property owners from protecting their stock or land, as it mainly bans trophy hunting. Some ranch owners find themselves frustrated at the 36-hour check, but these concerns have been largely dismissed.

 “They’re beautiful animals and when we’re encroaching upon them, it’s hard for me to see the reaction we normally give, to kill them,” Muenich said.

Mountain lions are one of Texas’s last remaining natural predators. Additionally, mountain lions are not endangered but are at several risks for population decline, leading many to vehemently oppose any ill-treatment of these animals – especially concerning canned hunting and traps.

“You’re not really seeing it as a being,” Herbert said, “That’s kind of gross.”