Two Los Angeles City Council members are pushing to end the permitted killing of mountain lions after one of the big cats was put down in the Santa Monica Mountains last month.
Along with seeking to halt depredation permits, which allow lethal action against cougars, Councilmen Paul Koretz and David Ryu announced Tuesday they were asking that the city support listing Southern California and Central Coast mountain lions as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. The city leaders also want to establish a fund to reimburse anyone whose pets or livestock are killed by the animals.
Although the state allows landowners to take lethal action against a big cat that has killed or injured other animals if deterrents have failed, both men said mountain lions already faced an uncertain future because of significant threats, including overbuilding, destruction of wildlife corridors and exposure to rat poison.
“There continues to be an insane disconnect between the important conservation work we are doing in a time when we are racing the clock to protect our native species and habitat,” Koretz said in a statement.
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