Actress Olivia Munn has reached out to Gov. Bruce Rauner in the hopes of saving the lives of wild bobcats in Illinois.
Legislation for a bill that would allow bobcat hunting in the state for the first time in 42 years has passed the Illinois House and Senate and is headed for the governor's desk next.
Munn, who is an animal rights activist, issued a statement in a letter to the governor posted on the Humane Society's website Friday.
"I recently spent some time in Illinois for work and loved the vast countryside and the sounds of happy wildlife," Munn wrote in the letter. "Allowing reclusive bobcats to be hunted would be such a disruption to The Prairie State’s ecosystem, and nobody really needs the pelt or stuffing of a bobcat but the bobcat himself. Please join me alongside Dr. Jane Goodall and the more than 75 percent of Illinois voters who want bobcats protected."
The legislation -- HB0352 -- sponsored by Carlinville Republican Sen. Sam McCann, would allow the Department of Natural Resources to issue as many as 200 permits a year to keep the animal's population in check.
The season would run from Nov. 1 to Feb. 15. Aurora Democratic Sen. Linda Holmes said conservationists still have concerns even though the animal has been removed from the endangered species list.
A similar bill landed on former Gov. Pat Quinn's desk at the end of his term, but Quinn vetoed it on his final day in office.
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Gov. Rauner has not yet spoken publicly about his opinion on the bill.
