Written by
Nannette Miranda, ABC7
California Fish and Game president Daniel Richards poses with cougar he shot during an Idaho hunting trip.
FOLSOM, CA - Several rescued mountain lions are live out their days at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary. Since 1990, it has been illegal to hunt them under voter-approved Proposition 117.
However, Animal rights activists are angry and creating a buzz on social media because of a photo on the Western Outdoor News' website of the California's Fish and Game Commission President Dan Richards holding a mountain lion he recently hunted in Idaho.
It's not legal to bring it back to California.
The San Bernardino County Republican was appointed by then Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2008 but only became President recently on a questionable 2 to 0 vote.
"No big surprise they would be revolted at the image of our top Fish and Game Commissioner trophy hunting and taking a mountain lion with a big smile on his face," Human Society of the U.S. Jennifer Fearing said. "It's sort of equivalent to a drug czar heading off to a foreign country where drug use is legal, participating and posting pictures on the internet."
Neither Richards nor the Fish and Game Commission wanted to comment.
The Mountain Lion Foundation said it has been fielding numerous emails and calls. The non-profit helped get Prop 117 on the ballot and is among the organizations calling for Richards to resign.
"Californians trust the Fish and Game Department and their commissioners to be protectors of wildlife resources and this person is showing he doesn't really care," Mountain Lion Foundation Tim Dunbar said.
Richards has been pushing to expand hunting and often clashes with animal rights and environmental groups.
But the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance doesn't think Richards should resign, after all it is legal to hunt mountain lions in Idaho.
"What Mr. Richards did in Idaho is neither illegal nor immoral," California Outdoor Heritage Alliance Bill Gaines said. "The legal hunting activity in Idaho of mountain lions has no bearing on his ability to act as a Fish and Game Commissioner in the best interest of California's wildlife resource."
California governors do not have authority over the Fish and Game Commission and cannot remove members. The Legislature must do it and there are already talks of introducing a bill to do so.
Nannette Miranda
ABC7
ABC7/KGO