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Report: Former New Mexico Game Commission Chair Set Up Cougar Hunt

New Mexico

A report says the New Mexico Game Commission chair who recently resigned amid allegations that he was an accessory to an unlawful killing of a cougar set up the hunt.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that a Game and Fish investigation says former chairman Scott Bidegain spotted a cougar on his family's T4 cattle ranch near Tucumcari and had a hunting agent call an Oklahoma City lawyer.

The report says the lawyer didn't have a required game-hunting license and habitat management access validation stamp.

According to the report, the lawyer came to Tucumcari on Feb. 9 and met Bidegain. The report says the lawyer shot the cougar and Bidegain snapped a photo.

The department filed charges of unlawful hunting or fishing against Bidegain this month.

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