Hair-Trigger Mentality Brought Down Tiger

Having just returned from central India, where my wife and I were fortunate to view two tigers in the wild in separate sightings in Pench National Park, I am disheartened to see our state officials so flippantly take the life of the tiger in Ventura County (Feb. 24). I was not at the scene and did not have the details that the Fish and Game officials had after the tiger was spotted by a citizen. I am concerned, however, that it appears that the officer in charge thought no more of the situation than if it was a rabid dog he was facing.

The pictures I viewed showed that the tiger was on a hillside far from any possible human contact. I think the tiger was dispatched with the same recent hair-trigger mentality behind police use of Taser guns.

Geoffrey Stover

Santa Ynez

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The California Department of Fish and Game needs to rethink its title and mission. The attitude so tragically demonstrated by the needless killing of the tiger is way off-target in this century of human-induced extinctions. We would hope for a policy that seeks to conserve and protect wildlife, especially those species critically endangered. This killing could have, and should have, been prevented.

Sarah Pierce Damassa

Elizabeth C. Pierce

Cambria