Associated Press
 
September 30, 2008
 
WHITE CITY, Ore. -- The state has built some new traps to catch cougars that have attacked pets or livestock.
 
The new welded iron traps are part of a new strategy to euthanize the big cats when they threaten homes, or farms and ranches.
 
State biologists had been relying on hunters with trained hounds or federal Wildlife Services agents to track, capture and kill cougars preying on livestock.
 
Officials say the new traps being deployed this week will allow biologists to quickly respond to a complaint.
 
Biologists say the traps are just the right size for cougars, so there is little risk of trapping pets or livestock.