Wildlife officials captured and put down a mountain lion that killed 12 livestock in southern California over a two-year period. That action is the first taken in response to a 2017 “three-strike” policy instituted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that allows a landowner to receive a depredation permit after taking non-lethal measures.
According to KCBS-TV, the National Park Service (NPS) previously captured the mountain lion and placed a GPS collar on it, allowing biologists to track its movements in the Santa Monica Mountains, approximately 30 miles west of Los Angeles. The landowner implemented various measures including electronic fencing, guard dogs and bringing in animals, but the mountain lion attacked nine times killing 12 different livestock.
Two Los Angeles city council members since introduced a resolution seeking to outlaw the “three-strike policy.”
Hunting is a key tool used by wildlife managers across the country, but it is not allowed to help control California’s mountain lion population estimated to be between 4,000 and 6,000. Voters passed a state initiative in 1990 outlawing the hunting of mountain lions. A 2014 exception allows for removal of the mountains lions if they kill livestock or pets.
(Photo source: National Park Service)