The numbers represent an expansion for what are known as the "bag limits" for bobcats, but the decision by a regulation committee to leave the policy in the hands of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission comes amid concerns about the bobcat population and what critics warn is a dearth of data.
Jenny Gilbert, the legislative liaison for state fish and wildlife department, told lawmakers the agency is regularly reviewing the data and can revise those allowable numbers down if there's new evidence that the bobcat population is in danger of collapse.
"That's the beauty of a regulation is that it can be changed. If you see that the data has provided new information, then obviously we are more than happy to bring that before our commission and then with their approval to bring it before your committee in the form of an amendment," she said.
Yet wildlife biologists, members of the commission, and even some trappers have raised red flags about the expanded hunting rules. Rep. Mary Lou Marzian expressed worries that, over time, gradual increases in bag limits might result in irreversible outcomes.
"As humans, we encroach every day on habitat. But as we encroach, then we call animals that live in the habitat nuisances. And then we have legislation or administrative (regulations) that it's okay to hunt them and hunt more and more of them to where eventually that species is wiped out," she said.
Proponents acknowledge there's no perfect way to measure the size of the bobcat population, but the Wildlife Department argues it does its best to gather information and make reasonable conclusions about the health of ecosystems.