Syracuse.com - California lawmakers call for resignation of fish and game official who shot, killed and ate a cougar during an Idaho hunt

[HuntingNY-News]

The hunt was legal. Nevertheless, the incident has created quite a stir in California, particularly since the cougar was hunted with dogs and treed before it was shot. "Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom joined some 40 legislators, the Sierra Club and the Humane Society of the United States this week to call for Richards' resignation," the Web site reported.

The following ran recently on the San Francisco Bay Chronicle Web site. Interesting stuff.

"A collective gulp was almost detectable this week when California Fish and Game Commission President Daniel Richards defiantly declared to outraged legislators that he not only gunned down a mountain lion and held the carcass like a trophy, but he then ate big cat for dinner.

(The incident took place during a legal hunt in Idaho.)

"The revelation that Richards complied with the backcountry rule that you eat what you shoot didn't do much to quiet calls in the Capitol for his head, but the perfectly legal shooting and consumption of puma meat certainly raised questions about his diet.

"As odd and unappetizing as the dish may sound, it isn't unusual for hunters to consume cougar meat, according to hunting groups."

The incident has created quite a stir in California, particularly since the cougar was hunted with dogs and treed before it was shot.

"Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom joined some 40 legislators, the Sierra Club and the Humane Society of the United States this week to call for Richards' resignation," the Web site reported.

"I know many, many ethical hunters are just as appalled about the idea of treeing a predator," said Jennifer Fearing, California state director for the Humane Society of the United States. "It is a trophy animal, and they used packs of dogs. He followed behind and shot it out of a tree," she said.

See picture and read the full story.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog