Varmint Slaughter at the Commercial Club
Local sportsmen celebrate a massive, organized eradication of 'varmints'—including cougars, coyotes, and hawks—in a trophy-heavy banquet.
More than 100 Pierce County sportsmen of the Game Protective Association participated in the annual banquet given to varmint exterminators last night at the Commercial Club. The slaughter of varmints has been tremendous in the past few months. In the list of fatalities were six cougars, 22 wild cats, 14 coyotes, 35 trunks and a raft of hawks and blue jays. There were some mighty black birds marked 'blue jays' and any suspicious might think there had been a mistake in labeling the black fellows but, as the law prohibits killing crows, no one cared to investigate. Ira V. Light of Steilacoom got first prize with 2,820 points; Cal Cardinal of Steilacoom, second; Blakesley, third; H. P. Fosb of Buckley, fourth; and Lawson, fifth.
“The real prize hunters, who killed cougars and bob cats, got lower places.”
This reflects the early 20th-century conservation movement, which often prioritized the protection of game species by systematically destroying local predators. Today, these species are monitored as vital parts of the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, and bounty-style culling has been replaced by more nuanced wildlife management.
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