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Loading...CA Fish & Game Official Shoots Mountain Lion, Is “Glad It’s Legal In Idaho”
Dan Richards was appointed to California’s Fish and Game Commission by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in February of 2008. A few weeks ago, he was elected the Commission’s president by two votes, his own and that of fellow Commission member Jim Kellogg. The two other members, Michael Sutton and Richard E. Rogers, abstained and, as The California Majority Report notes, there’s something a bit “fishy” about this.
Richards became president simply because the “law requires a rotation that automatically put Richards in the president’s chair.” A commercial real estate developer and the CEO of the Coldwell Banker Commercial-Inland Empire, Richards is a questionable choice to serve in such a role for California’s Fish and Game Commission. As his biography notes, Richards is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.
Even more, Richards is opposed to the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), which requires the state to evaluate all Marine Protection Areas to conserve marine life and biodiversity. While the MLPA has bipartisan support — it was signed into law by former Democratic Governor Gray Davis and implemented under former Republican Governor Schwarzenegger — Richards has not been shy at expressing his objections to it on the grounds that it imposes a “huge economic burden” on businesses and the state. Due to failing to disclose potential conflicts of interest — namely, his ties to two major land development firms — the Los Angeles-based Endangered Habitats League filed a Fair Political Practices Commission investigation against Richards in October of 2010; the complaint was dismissed.
But Richards has really “gone over the line,” says The California Majority Report, after shooting a mountain lion in Idaho; it is illegal to do this in California. A photo of him with the dead animal appeared in Western Outdoor News with the following caption:
Asked about California’s mountain lion moratorium, Richards didn’t hesitate. ‘I’m glad it’s legal in Idaho.’
You can see the photo of Richards with the dead mountain lion on Western Outdoor News.
The California Majority Report notes that it is high time that Governor Jerry Brown appoint someone to the California Fish & Game Commission who respects the MLPA and California law and remove Richards. How in the world did someone who is opposed to the state’s efforts to protect wildlife end up heading the California Fish & Game Commission which is supposed to be “involved in the management and wise use of California’s fish and wildlife resources”?
Take action and ask Governor Brown to remove Richards from the California Fish & Game Commission by signing this petition.
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Read more: california, cougar, dan richards, fish & game commission, idaho, jerry brown, mountain lion, nra, schwarzenegger
Photo by www.huntfishguide.com
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+ add your ownI think it is obvious that Dan Richards is in the WRONG job.
Petition signed!!!
SIGNED TWO PETITIONS to have this murderous barbarian removed from office!
He has NO business being a Commissioner for Fish and Game in California (or anywhere else!) when he is a keen hunter (read: keen on murdering defenceless animals). Give him the sack; get rid of him! This is despicable, barbaric, vile behaviour!
The day hunters use nothing except maybe a knife against a mountain lion, a tiger, an elephant, a rhino or a bear, that is the day I might consider the odds to be more or less even.
To Continue:
It is one thing to hunt in order to put meat in the freezer - deer and moose. It is entirely another thing to hunt creatures that we do NOT eat or utilize for fur and leather. That these important predators at the top of the food chain survive is critical - their very survival keeps humanity in check - very little else does. Then of course, there is the little item of messing with the natural balance - with no mountain lion in that area, bunnies, rodents, raccoon and other smaller mammals will become the next nuisance animals in the area - then they'll need to kill them and on and on until pretty much nothing is left.
Unthinking stupidity is one thing, but willful violence and killing that is pointless, destructive and worst of all, legal, defines our cultures as barbaric
@Ron L.
You are not accurate in your comments regarding animal numbers.
The deer population is soaring EVERYWHERE, thus the mass numbers of roadkill on North American hwys. So are racoons and skunks. This is because our apex predators, mountain lion, bears and yes, wolves too, (who once roamed pretty much the whole continent, EVEN California) have been pushed to almost un-sustainable numbers or into isolated pockets where the breeding pool is limited and healthy reproduction is compromised. The other main impact on ALL wildlife is the increasingly short supply of fresh water. In years of lower rainfall there is a greater impact on animal reproduction that any predation could have.
Those who practice hunting legitimately also need to hold themselves to the highest scientific standards because of the impact they, with their vast technological advantage, can effect on the natural order of things. We ALL bear some responsibility, courtesy of our modern lifestyle, for encroaching on wildlife habitat, but those who practice hunting must be accountable for their impact.
It is one thing to hunt in order to put meat in the freezer - deer and moose. It is entirely another thing to hunt creatures that we do NOT eat or utilize for fur and leather. That these important predators at the top of the food chain survive is critical - their very survival keeps humanity in check - very little else does. Then of course, there is the little item of messing with the natural balance - w
DISGUSTING! This monster is a DISGRACE to the department! PLEASE REMOVE HIM NOW!! He does not represent the majority of Californians.
Vicious bastard!
Ron L.: Us "treehuggers" (which you appear to be using as a derrogatory term for environmentalists) here in California, (where the vast majority of the population considers themselves to be environmentalists), do not want an NRA member (that uses the taxpayer funded salary/perks he receives to kill wildlife for fun), to be President of the Fish & Game Commission.
I am outraged about Dan Richard's boasting about killing a mountain lion and that "it's legal in Idaho". The man should definitely be removed from California's Fish & Game Commission. Personally, I am disgusted by anyone who hunts an animal for a trophy. There should be a law against in any state.
do i pay taxes for this pos ? FIRE HIM NOW !
"fish and game" are staffed by criminals. They should all be in jail.
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