Killing of Mountain Lion

* I protest in the strongest terms the clumsy and unnecessary slaughter of a female cougar in Valencia (“Mountain Lion Killed in Backyard,” Feb. 26). This trigger-happy episode makes me question our values and the way we use our resources.

The wildlife was there first. People who cannot adjust to wildlife, fires, floods and landslides have no business living in foothill and mountain areas. Use of a dozen California Department of Fish and Game people and sheriff’s deputies, plus helicopters and dogs, indicates that these agencies are overstaffed.

The people responsible for the killing should be fired or demoted.

KENYON B. DE GREENE

Woodland Hills

* Convicted murderers, rapists and other violent criminals are released daily to once again prey upon society. An 80-pound mountain lion blinks at humans who have moved into its territory and [sheriff’s deputies and Fish and Game wardens] and dogs are called out for the kill. Trigger happy? You betcha.

Fish and Game won’t rest until it is once again open season on our cougars.

SUSAN ROBIN

Agoura

* Question: Which is more dangerous? A dozen yahoos brandishing guns or a lazing cat?

It is high time we quit killing every creature that wanders onto the fringes of our so-called civilization. Fear and ignorance are the only possible explanations for such absurd behavior. There is plenty of room for us and the limited amount of wildlife left in this state.

MICHAEL J. CONNOR

Northridge

* No, the state Department of Fish and Game officials did not take the correct course of action when they killed the mountain lion resting on a patio in Valencia (“Death of a Mountain Lion,” Valley Edition Editorials, March 2).

If that cat was deemed to have posed too great a danger for these wardens to capture, then these wardens are grossly undertrained. A veterinarian from the Los Angeles Zoo was nearby, and the Wildlife Waystation is also nearby, with qualified veterinarians, experienced animal behaviorists and the expertise to handle this sort of situation, as they have hundreds of times in the past.

Why is it that the real professionals that deal with these types of animals daily are not called upon?

Killing this mountain lion was an easy out. It’s happened before and unfortunately it will happen again.

JUDI WILLIAMS

Chatsworth

* Re “Captured Cougars Can’t Go Home Again,” March 3.

Death is never a “humane” alternative and I’m insulted to be told that it is.

The furtive killing of cougars makes it plain that Fish and Game is knowingly doing something the people don’t like. It also makes it clear that the department sorely lacks guidance and direction on this issue.

It’s time we declared [the killing] unacceptable as a matter of public policy. It’s time we sought effective and lasting alternatives and compelled our government agencies to behave compassionately on behalf of the people they represent.

JEFF SWANSON

Woodland Hills

* I don’t know what outrages me more, Fish and Game blasting cougars with shotguns or tranquilizing them to transport them out of sight and then kill them.

I don’t deny that mountain lions can be a threat and that managing them is becoming more difficult. However, Fish and Game has always taken the easy way out and usually gets away with it by providing lame excuses to whoever questions their practices. Meanwhile, my tax dollars are funding ammunition for trigger-happy wardens.

ELVIRA MONROE

Lake View Terrace

* An extremely sad revelation in the killing of this cougar was that Fish and Game [seldom] relocates a tranquilized cougar but summarily kills it. They justify this by claiming that the cougar has overcrowded his habitat and a capture can’t be released, as he will kill another cougar.

Something’s wrong with this picture. Since Fish and Game claims that it is the nature of cougars to kill each other off, how can the cougar’s habitat be overcrowded at the same time?

Isn’t it man, not the cougar, who is doing the overcrowding?

Because man has the power to exterminate the cougar, he has the responsibility to care about and for such a magnificent and ecologically important creation.

CARROL McDONALD

Thousand Oaks