If you ask Kim Thorburn, a Washington Department of Fish and Game commissioner, she thinks it is.

“I’m pretty upset about what’s going on,” she said. “We’re looking at hunters as an enemy.”

The uproar from hunters and lobbyists for the sport comes after the stricter regulations passed in recent years, a new lawsuit that has just come about, and two new fish and wildlife commissioners’ appointment.

The two appointed WDFW commissioners by the state governor, Jay Inslee, has the hunting world very concerned. The new commissioners, Fred Koontz of King County and Lorna Smith of Jefferson County, both have a background in wildlife conservation and advocacy. However, some don’t believe they have the sport in their best interest.

Smith has responded to these concerns by saying, “I would like to calm those fears of the hunting community. I’m not coming in to abolish this sport.”

In 2019, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife ended the antlerless deer hunt in eastern Washington. Another recently filed lawsuit is wanting to outlaw spring bear hunting, and last year the department banned coyote-killing contests.

One area of interest for Smith is the hunting of cougars in Washington. Last April, the state adopted more liberal cougar-hunting rules. Smith believes that she thinks the WDFW has been “too dismissive” in their cougar research.

Mark Pidgeon, the Hunters Heritage Council president, worries the commission is no longer balanced with representatives from a variety of industries.

The decline of state-issued hunting-licenses in Washington has decreased by 11% between 2008-2018, and youth participation was down 22% over the same period.

If hunters don’t speak up and start fighting for the lifestyle and culture, you can expect to see these numbers going down even more in the years to come.