State Panel Delays Decision on Mountain Lion Hunting Season

The California Fish and Game Commission Friday delayed until April a vote on a proposal to allow a resumption of hunting of mountain lions.

With one member saying that any action Friday would have been a “hasty decision,” the commission put off action on the controversial issue after listening to dozens of speakers for nearly three hours. It had been expected to make a tentative decision on whether to allow sport hunting of the big cats for the first time in 15 years.

“This way we’ll keep all our options open,” said Commissioner Robert Bryant of Yuba City. “We’ll look over all this testimony and then come back and make our final decision.”

If approved, the hunting season on mountain lions would begin on the second Saturday in October--Oct. 10 this year--and continue for 79 days. Permits would cost $75. No more than 210 lions a year could be killed statewide.

The ban was imposed by the Legislature in 1972 and expired at the end of 1985. But the commission has extended the ban since then. In the meantime, the issue has taken on added significance because of several mountain lion attacks on children in Orange County.