Bobcats may become fair game for Illinois hunters. Legislators this week sent the governor a plan to make it legal to kill the animal.
Bobcats were once a threatened species in Illinois. Since they were removed from the list in 1999, Sen. John Sullivan - a Democrat - says they've gotten out of control.
"I spent a lot of time out in the woods. I hunt. My district is over in western Illinois, which is where the bobcat population has exploded. I used to never see a bobcat. Now, it is uncommon to go to the woods and not see bobcats. And not one, or two. But three or four or five or six of 'em."
Sullivan says Illinois needs a bobcat hunting season to manage their growth. Another Democratic Senator, Linda Holmes of Aurora, says there's another motive.
"Why are we doing this? I'll tell you why we're doing this. We're doing this for trophy hunting."
Bobcat hunts would begin next November, unless the governor vetoes the legislation.