BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2011-2012 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: SB 769 HEARING DATE: April 26, 2011
AUTHOR: Fuller URGENCY: Yes
VERSION: April 25, 2011 CONSULTANT: Katharine Moore
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Mountain lions: display or exhibition.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
In 1990, California voters passed Proposition 117 - the
California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 (CWPA)(Fish and Game
Code §§ 4800 - 4809). Among its provisions, the CWPA
established that California's mountain lions are a "specially
protected species" and barred their hunting. Under the CWPA,
mountain lions may be killed under the following circumstances
only:
if a depredation permit is issued to take a specific
lion known to attack and injure or kill livestock or pets;
to preserve public safety; and
to reduce the threat to endangered Bighorn sheep.
The CWPA only permits the possession and sale of mountain lions
and mountain lion parts obtained prior to its passage. All
other mountain lion carcasses must be turned over to the
Department of Fish and Game (DFG).
Although the population estimate is uncertain, roughly 4,000 -
6,000 mountain lions are thought to live in California.
Annually, about 110 mountain lions are legally killed on average
with the following breakdown:
97 under depredation permits (45% of the 218 permits
issued, based on 20 years of data);
9 to protect public safety (based on 2001 - 2008 data);
2 to protect Bighorn sheep through the Sierra Sheep
program (based on 10 years of data).
Further, an unknown number of mountain lions are killed annually
by motor vehicles.
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PROPOSED LAW
This bill would:
Update the genus to "puma"
Allow legally-possessed mountain lion carcasses or parts
thereof provided by DFG to be prepared for display or
exhibition for scientific or education purposes at a
non-profit or government-owned museum or at an educational
institution, including public or private postsecondary
ones.
Declares these amendments are consistent with and
further the purposes of the California Wildlife Protection
Act of 1990.
Due to the provisions of the CWPA, this bill requires a 4/5s
vote for passage.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, "SB 769 provides a very narrow
exemption to the law to allow institutions to prepare and
display preserved mountain lions that are otherwise legally
taken. These changes are wholly consistent with the intent of
the mountain lion initiative approved by the voters in 1990 and
will not impact the existing ban on hunting or otherwise taking
mountain lions without appropriate authority."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None Received
COMMENTS
The CWPA does not specifically permit mountain lion carcasses
obtained after 1990 to be used for any purpose . DFG appears to
have informally allowed, for example, educational institutions -
such as the Santa Rosa Junior College biology department - to
occasionally include the examination and study of legally-killed
mountain lions and the subsequent preparation of their skins and
skeletons for display. These activities were to the immediate
educational benefit of the students involved and to the benefit
of the general public upon display. Recently, however, DFG
changed its legal position on this practice and stopped
permitting it. In the fall of 2008, the Maturango Museum - a
museum dedicated to the arts, and natural and cultural history
of the Northern Mojave Desert - obtained a mountain lion killed
by a motor vehicle. The Museum displays many preserved animals
native to the Mojave Desert region which is a "wonderful
educational tool", according to the author, for teaching museum
visitors about the area and its unique ecosystem. Despite
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repeated and continuing efforts over 2-1/2 years, the Museum was
not able to obtain clear authorization to prepare the carcass
for display and only within the last several weeks definitively
learned that DFG would not allow it. This bill, if passed,
would allow - but not require - the carcasses of legally-killed
animals to be used in a limited way for scientific and
educational purposes (and the Maturango Museum could proceed
with its taxidermy). It is important to note that this bill
does not change the special status of mountain lions in
California and does not change in any way the restrictions on
their legal killing.
This bill is the product of collaboration between stakeholders .
The proposed language is the negotiated result of on-going
discussions between multiple parties, including the Mountain
Lion Foundation, sponsors of Proposition 117 in 1990. This
bill's language may continue to evolve. The committee may wish
to bring this bill back to committee for review should
substantive amendments be subsequently made.
SUPPORT
None Received
OPPOSITION
None Received
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