Wildlife Commissioner taking heat for a legal cougar hunt

[Curly]

With the amount of morons in CA, I almost wouldn't mind just giving CA to Mexico.....(at least So. CA).  The state of CA is bankrupt and it is obvious that it is because the majority of voters down there are a bunch of idiots.

[huntrights]

I attempted to leave a comment last night.  The web site appeared to accept it, but my comment is nowhere to be found.  Have others been successful?

Here is a link to an article from the U.S. Sportsmens Alliance. 

http://www.ussportsmen.org/page.aspx?pid=3004&erid=11039021&trid=f81f4f8e-3ed6-4eae-af52-eba5743123fc

"Take Action!  Sportsmen need to call their state legislators in support of Commissioner Richards TODAY.  Tell them to keep anti-hunting politics out of wildlife conservation. To find your state legislators’ contact information, visit USSA's Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org/LAC."

[BOWHUNTER45]

This guy needs our help .... could not find a link so go to :

                WWW.KEEP AMERICA FISHING.ORG
SIGN THE ON LINE PETITION .......

[FC]

Some extraordinarily clueless idiots commenting there.

[dreamingbig]

This made the WSJ today.  It sounds like he can be removed with a resolution passed through the legislature.  Unfortunatey I feel like he is going to get pushed out.  Not right at all! 

[FC]

This made the WSJ today.  It sounds like he can be removed with a resolution passed through the legislature.  Unfortunatey I feel like he is going to get pushed out.  Not right at all! 

It's theoretically possible yes but if you look at all those comments you will see the same few flapping their keyboards repeatedly while a lot of people who have more realistic views are answering them.

[dreamingbig]

I hear you but the article states, "A resolution to remove Mr. Richards was being drafted in the Democratic controlled assembly on Thursday and could be acted on next week... ....the legislature has the power to remove them on a simple majority vote."

They even included a picture of him with the dead cougar.  It is on A2 bottom left so fairly prominent.

[Wenatcheejay]

The HSUS is behind the this drive to unseat him. They say it will move their eco-agenda.

It has nothing to do with what he did, it has everything to do with politics.

HSUS kills 95% of the animals in it's trust. The Wildlife Agency IN California kills 100's of cougars a year. But, that is good.

He hunts lawfully in Idaho and that is bad. 

Yep, that's about right. I know if I would just take up pot I would understand the logic. Alas, I don't, and I just don't understand. 

The real goal here should be to get States to reclassify HSUS as an Animal Euthanasia Organization.

[Sumpnneedskillin]

Found this in a Sacramento Bee article supportive of the commissioner.

“This is the same Legislature that didn’t react when one of its members was caught by police with a prostitute in his car, parked alongside a busy Los Angeles highway, or when another crashed her state-issued car while driving recklessly, injuring two people.

“More recently, this is the same Legislature that didn’t respond when a member was nailed for shoplifting, or when another carried a loaded pistol into an airport security checkpoint.

“As for (Lt. Gov. Gavin) Newsom, a politician who had an affair with his top campaign aide’s wife shouldn’t moralize.”

[400out]

 

[Knocker of rocks]

Wow, you'd think the the legislature would have more important things to worry about.

I think it's weird that the state can make possession of cougar parts killed after 1990 illegal.  That doesn't seem like it would hold up in court, if the cougar was legally killed in another state.

This also suprised me

Mountain lion hunting in California was first banned by Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1972 in five-year increments. It was outlawed permanently when California voters passed Proposition 117 in 1990.

[Sumpnneedskillin]

Things have taken a new twist.  I guess he didn't pay for the cougar hunt worth $6800, the ranch gave it to him gratis.  Because of this someone has filed an ethics complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission.  CA state officials are not allowed to accept more that $420 in gifts per year.

[bobcat]

Things have taken a new twist.  I guess he didn't pay for the cougar hunt worth $6800, the ranch gave it to him gratis.  Because of this someone has filed an ethics complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission.  CA state officials are not allowed to accept more that $420 in gifts per year.

Now that is interesting. I wonder why they would give it to him for free? What was in it for them? Doesn't make any sense. I guess now they really do have a somewhat legitimate complaint against him, if that is true.

[Sumpnneedskillin]

Here's an article with some more info about the hunt
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/02/BA221NFBVG.DTL

[bobcat]

OK, after reading that it doesn't sound to me like it was a "gift". He was there anyway as a paying customer, hunting birds and shooting clay pigeons, and he just went along on a cougar hunt, and was the shooter. If he hadn't been there they would have chased that cat and killed it anyway. He doesn't even get to bring it home. So I don't see what he has gained. But they will probably be able to spin this the right way and get rid of him. Too bad we can't get him here on our fish & wildlife commission as some have already said.