Measure to Ban Sport Hunting of Cougars Derailed

Conservationist-supported legislation that would explicitly ban the killing of mountain lions for sport was derailed Wednesday in the state Senate until after voters decide the fate of Proposition 197 on March 26.

In postponing action, members of the state Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee temporarily avoided entangling themselves in the politically charged ballot issue.

The proposition would order state Fish and Game officials to develop a wildlife management plan aimed at protecting the elusive predators and their potential prey--humans, pets and livestock.

Mountain lion hunting was outlawed by voters in 1990 when they enacted the Wildlife Protection Act.

Critics of Proposition 197 contend that it would indirectly repeal the ban on hunting and empower Fish and Game officials to use hunters as management tools in cases where mountain lion populations pose a threat to public safety or livestock.

Fish and game officials downplay the likelihood of using hunters as a tool in controlling lion populations that may threaten public safety, but refuse to rule out the possibility.

State Sen. Nicholas C. Petris (D-Oakland) and conservationist organizations proposed a bill virtually identical to Proposition 197, except that it would specifically outlaw the hunting of mountain lions for sport.

If approved by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature and signed by Gov. Pete Wilson, the Petris bill (SB 1487) would appear as a proposition on the Nov. 5 general election ballot and amend Proposition 197 to explicitly prohibit hunting the lions.

State Sen. Tim Leslie (R-Carnelian Bay), author of Proposition 197, criticized the Petris bill as a last-minute political move by opponents of the ballot measure. “It’s a blatant attempt to try to confuse the voters,” he said.

All Republican and some Democratic members of the Senate committee made it clear they wanted no part of voting on the Petris bill in advance of the March 26 election.

“I’d like to consider this in the context of what the voters decide,” said committee member Sen. Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton), who is seeking reelection.

Petris retorted: “I want to stick with the voters, too. In 1990, they voted to ban mountain lion hunting.”

Johnston and Democrat Mike Thompson of Vallejo joined all four committee Republicans in voting for the delay. Chairman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) and Democrats Hilda Solis of El Monte and Henry Mello of Watsonville voted against the postponement.

The bill was supported by the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters and the California Wildlife Protection Coalition, an anti-Proposition 197 campaign organization. It was opposed by the state Department of Fish and Game and the California Farm Bureau.