Proposed Hunting of Mountain Lions

I was shocked and saddened to learn that the Department of Fish and Game is considering lifting the ban on the hunting of mountain lions.

While I personally oppose all forms of hunting, I realize that hunting for the purpose of providing food is considered justifiable in some quarters.

I also feel sympathy for ranchers if their herds are indeed being decimated by marauding mountain lions, although I find it hard to believe that only 400 lions, ranging from Los Angeles County to the Mexican border, really present that great a problem; nevertheless, I would be willing to have some of my tax dollars allotted to reimbursing those ranchers for their losses.

I feel nothing but revulsion, however, for those who would kill lions for “sport” (defined in my dictionary as “competition; fun; play”); there is no competition here, only the terrorizing and murder of a magnificent, sentient being, for the sake of a trophy and an exciting story for the hunter to share, over and over, with his like-minded pals.

Will we ever learn that being the “dominant” species on earth does not give us license to commit mayhem against the other creatures who share the planet?

The taking of any life at all, in any form, should be done with the greatest solemnity and profound consideration for the consequences.

When the Indians killed an animal for food, they thanked the departing soul of that animal for giving its life to sustain theirs. Were we to do the same, we would be reminded of the interdependence of all life forms.

People who kill for fun bring shame upon the entire human race, as long as we allow this obscenity to continue.

PATRICIA van HARTESVELDT

Reseda