This week a friend called me regarding her 79 year old ranch neighbor, Polly, in Lower Lake. Twenty three of her sheep had been massacred by two mountain lions. In one night. One sheep was 20 years old. Polly had raised her from a newborn. Only one sheep survived. These sheep were mostly used by Polly for wildfire prevention.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) was notified and an agent came out. He verified the kills and determined there were two mountain lions. One larger than the second one, from the size of their paw prints.
Twenty three slaughtered by two cougars. But not for food. The carcasses weren’t eaten.
A “depredation permit” to eliminate the lions was denied to Polly on the grounds that a three-strike rule protects cougars. It was suggested to her that she spend the night in the unheated barn and shoot the lions if they returned. An impossible task for the 79 year old, and also impossible for her husband to do so as he’s wheelchair bound.
Killing mountain lions is illegal in California because they are designated as a protected species, but ranchers may be issued permits for the CDFW agent to destroy a cougar who has killed on three separate occasions on the same property. Three kills on neighboring property or multiple kills on one night do not qualify.
The mountain lions that killed off Polly’s flock didn’t return. They moved on to another farm, Betty’s, and killed five goats and one sheep. I’ve been to Betty’s farm and loved seeing her flock of goats and sheep grazing on the hillsides. I wasn’t ready for the photos Betty sent me of the slaughtered animals lying dead in the pasture.
I’m big on saving wildlife, but I’m not an advocate of saving rogue cougars on a rampage. It has been hard to keep up with the events of this week, since the lions returned to Betty’s ranch the very next night and fed on one goat, the third night they killed two more sheep and took some lambs away. That would appear to have met the criteria for a depredation permit from the CDFG, but when called they told Betty she was allowed to get a “Hazing Permit” that would allow Betty to get on her ATV and follow the lions and shoot paintballs or beanbags at them. “If I even could chase them,” Betty said, “they could turn on me and I’d be lion meat.”
An update from Betty said that hound dogs were brought out and chased the cougars away from her property. The following night there was kill on Cobb by three cougars (on camera), verified by a CDFW agent. So, the cougars have moved on and another Three Strikes has to be verified, on that same property.
It’s pretty rare that cougars kill livestock for food, they usually feed on deer, but when they learn how easy is it to kill cooped up livestock, what’s a cougar to do? The choice seems obvious.
I realize this is a conversation that can explode on both sides; rancher vs animal rights. But having listened to the ranchers’ views, it’s hard for me to be silent. Betty was told in order to get a depredation permit, she needs to build a barn large enough to hold her flock of 40 animals, which would be a financially difficulty. Polly’s entire flock was massacred in a barn and it would be financially impossible for her to replace them. What’s a rancher to do?
Fish and Game Code Section 4803 states: “Upon receipt of a report pursuant to Section 4802, the department, or any animal damage control officer specifically authorized by the department to carry out this responsibility, shall immediately take the action necessary to confirm that there has been depredation by a mountain lion as reported. The confirmation process shall be completed as quickly as possible, but in no event more than 48 hours after receiving the report. If satisfied that there has been depredation by a mountain lion as reported, the department shall promptly issue a permit to take the depredating mountain lion.”
The CDFW seems to override Section 4803 with its Three Strikes rule. Confusing. The code says the lions can be eliminated if they destroyed animals, but CDFW says that there has to be verification of three separate kills on the same property, cancelling the code.
What Lake County farmers want is to reach Senator Mike McGuire and Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and Mike Simon, Supervisor for District 1 to increase public awareness and have a dialogue about having the CDFW Three Strikes amended.
What’s a girl to do? Keep this dialogue going and going, reach a larger audience.
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. You can email her at lucywgtd@gmail.com
