Steve Jones

2/5/97

# 45331746

In past years, the debate over human and mountain lion interaction has been quite heated. The California Legislature has addressed issues concerning the hunting of mountain lions for over 80 years. On March 26, 1996, the most recent ballot measure deciding the fate of the California cougar (Felis concolor), Proposition 197, was not passed. This would have repealed the 1990 passing of Proposition 117, which banned all trophy hunting of mountain lions, allowing only trained Department of Fish and Game officials to kill lions that became a threat to public safety and welfare. While compassion is felt for the victims of the relatively few mountain lion attacks, the denial of Proposition 197, which would have ended a 25 year ban on cougar hunting, was a victory for the California cougar as well as the welfare of California wildlife.

Traditional Beliefs

Before current knowledge of mountain lion activity had been researched, it was commonly believed that mountain lions were ferocious killers which crept down from the mountains to indulge in midnight feasts on livestock and pets. Of course, the worst harbored fear was the possibility of losing children, family and friends to these wild predators. Besides the past 25 years, little concern was given to the condition of mountain lion populations in California and much of the western United States. Between 1916 and 1971, more than 12,000 mountain lions were killed for bounties and for sport in California (California Wildlife Protection Coalition, 1995).

Past Legislation

By 1968 mountain lion populations plummeted to an estimated 600, resulting in rapid action of wildlife organizations and state officials. Governor Ronald Reagan became convinced that a moratorium on hunting mountain lions was necessary to protect California's last cougars from extinction. In 1971, he signed a moratorium against trophy hunting of mountain lions (California Wildlife Protection Coalition, 1995). The moratorium lasted 25 years until it was finalized in 1990 by the passing of Proposition 117 : California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 (Knowles, 1995). In 1994, the National Rifle Association (N.R.A.) and supporters of hunting organizations used the media to spawn public paranoia regarding recent attacks and population resurgence of California mountain lions. With this public support, trophy hunters hoped the passing of Proposition 197 would once again allow them to decimate the lion population for the sake of ëdecorative wall-mountings.

Recent Controversy

The past 25 years have proven quite prosperous for the mountain lion population as their numbers have been currently estimated at 4,000-6,000. In the past several years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of reported mountain lion sightings, encounters and attacks.

In the official ballot argument in favor of the measure, supporters warn the public: "In recent years the lion populations has grown so fast they have outgrown their food supply. Desperate for food, lions are being forced out of their natural habitat into existing residential and commercial developments where children and pets are in extreme danger". (Capps S., 1996)

Unfortunately, in 1994 there were two fatal attacks upon humans by healthy adult mountain lions which sent the media into a frenzy since there hadn't been a reported fatality since the early 1900's. Opposite of the vengeful hunters are the opponents to Proposition 197 who generally hold the belief that humans are encroaching upon natural mountain lion territory as we exponentially expand our population in California. The opposition's arguments are based on cruelty to animals and strong conflict with the N.R.A.'s self-serving agenda to end the ban on mountain lion hunting for sport.

Argument for Proposition 197

Besides the two deaths in 1994, many ranchers report the loss of livestock to hungry mountain lions forced to find food in scarce times. The incidence of encounters between humans and mountain lions in California has skyrocketed, according to the Department of Fish and Game statistics. (Capps S., 1996) Furthermore, since populations have recently become so high, there should be no reason to enforce special protection for these animals, especially if they're attacking people and causing property damage. The Department of Fish and Game supports the idea of managing lion populations with sport hunting and generating revenues through the sale of hunting licenses and permits. These funds could in turn be used to protect other disturbed or threatened areas. British Colombia has reported much success in controlling their thriving mountain lion population through licensed permit hunting.

Argument Against Proposition 197

The N.R.A.'s attempt to pass Proposition 197 has merely been a charade in which they used the media to manipulate the public into believing that these two unfortunate and puzzling fatal attacks are a trend racing out of control. However, In British Colombia, lion hunting is legal and relentless (200 lions killed for sport each year), yet British Colombians experience over 50% of all lion attacks in North America. (California Wildlife Protection Coalition, 1995). Considering the minimal amount of attacks over the past century, it is apparent that the recent incidents are being over-emphasized. Simply stated, Proposition 197 was a scam supported by the N.R.A. to trick the public into supporting a cause based on exaggerations and obscure lies. The blood thirsty head hunter's selfish desires to fill an empty space on their walls with a California cougar was not an adequate nor acceptable reason to support Proposition 197.

California Wildlife Protection Coalition. Mountain Lions and Public Safety, Nov. 1995.

http://www,sierraclub.org/chapters/ca/mountain-lion/safety.html.

California Wildlife Protection Coalition. Trophy Hunting of Mountain Lions: A History of

Deception. Dec. 1995. http://www.sierraclub.org:80/chapters/ca/mountain-

lion/history.html.

Capps, Steven A. Mountain Lion Referendum Follows Rash of Encounters, Feb. 1996.

http://www.startext.net80/news/doc/1047/1:Science43/1:Science.43021496.html.

Fenn, P. & Pacelle, W. Stretching Media Dollars: How it Was Done in a Well Targeted

California Proposition Campaign. Campaigns and Elections v. 17, n.6. (June, 1996):

pp. 44-46.

Hogue, Lawrence. Ghost of the Hills. Audobon v. 99, n.1. (Jan-Feb., 1997): pp. 80-85

The HSUS. 1996 Animal-Protection State Ballot Initiatives. Legislative Update. 1997.

http://www.hsus.org:80/update.html.

Knowles. Bill Number: AB 117. Legislative Counsel's Digest. Jan. 1995.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov:80/pub/95-96/bill/asm/ab-0101-0150/ab-117-bill-950111-

introduced.html.

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