Ceremony Sunday in Half Moon Bay For New Law Protecting Mountain Lions

Representatives of the Mountain Lion Foundation and other wildlife groups will join Senator Jerry Hill, Half Moon Bay Mayor Rick Kowalcyzk and a rescued mountain lion on Sunday, Dec. 1, to celebrate Senate Bill 132, new legislation that protects non-threatening mountain lions that wander into populated areas.

Starting at 11 a.m. at Mac Dutra Park in Half Moon Bay at the corner of Main Street and Kelly Street the group will discuss progress made in recent months in dealing with mountain lions that venture into residential areas.

The Dec. 1 date for the event was intentionally chosen, Hill said, to coincide with the anniversary of the shooting by wardens of two mountain lion kittens that were hiding under the deck of a house on the outskirts of Half Moon Bay on Dec. 1, 2012.

Senate Bill 132, a mountain lion public safety bill introduced by Senator Jerry Hill, takes effect New Year’s Day. The legislation authorizes the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to use only nonlethal procedures when responding to reports of mountain lions near residences that do not involve an imminent threat to human life. It also authorizes the department to partner with wildlife groups and nonprofits to resolve these situations.

Hill, D-San Mateo, introduced Senate Bill 132 after two mountain lion cubs were fatally shot on Dec. 1, 2012, in a Half Moon Bay neighborhood. State game wardens and San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies were unable to shoo the cubs from the neighborhood to nearby Burleigh Murray Ranch State Park, and regulations did not permit the officers to pursue other options.

The incident in Half Moon Bay and another mountain lion shooting in Redwood City in 2011 serve as examples of the inflexible regulations pertaining to Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (DFW) response when mountain lions venture into populated areas.

SB 132, which was signed by Governor Brown on September 6, provides the DFW with additional resources to deal with wayward mountain lions. Among the options included in “nonlethal procedures” are capturing, pursuing, anesthetizing, marking, transporting, hazing, releasing, providing veterinary care to and rehabilitating mountain lions, among other actions.

“SB 132 strikes the right balance when protecting humans and wildlife,” Hill said. “Wardens still have the ability to kill mountain lions when the public is at risk. But this legislation gives wardens the flexibility and resources to better deal with the increasing number of mountain lion encounters throughout the state.”

Hill’s legislation will allow the DFW to partner with wildlife rescue and rehabilitation groups, veterinarians, zoos, colleges, universities and nonprofit organizations throughout the state that have the capability and experience to assist with mountain lion incidents. The Peninsula Humane Society, for example, rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned wildlife. Last year, the organization saved 1,450 wild animals in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.