Folks, it’s that time of the year again.

After a year of incessant breeding, it is once again time to cull the ever growing population of campus cats. Each year, hunters young and old take to the walking paths and green spaces around the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, vigilantly searching for those adorable, yet potentially harmful critters.

“I remember when my dad first took me cat hunting,” said junior business major Alan Marvo. “It was a Husker Saturday when I was about 6 — bagged ourselves a couple tabbies.”

More than 400 cat hunting licenses have already been sold to Nebraska residents, the highest number since the cat boom of ‘94.

Though many hunters are out to fill their dens with handsome trophies, some are interesting in more than just sport.

“Hunting for sport has always sort of disgusted me,” said Todd Lankins, a sophomore environmental science major. “I believe in hunting for sustenance, so I always eat everything I kill.”

Students aren’t the only hunters heading out to campus. University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s own chancellor Harvey Perlman boasts an impressive collection of cats he’s humanely removed from Lincoln’s oversaturated feral cat population.

“Yeah, I try to get out there at least once a season, but you’ll never find a bow in my hands,” Perlman said. “For this guy, it’s a gun or nothing.”

The first snowfall of the year is normally the best time to catch one of the furry troublemakers, Lankins said. During the spring and summer, it’s too easy for cats to hide behind all the leaves and bushes.

“All you have to do is follow those cute little footprints they leave in the snow,” Lankins said.

“Or better yet, stake out one of those cat houses the UNL Campus Cat society maintains.”