VICTORY! Mountain Lions Protected In California After Vote

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Can I just start off by saying that it gives me such great pleasure to report good news like this when it comes to fruition!

Thanks in part to the many signatures submitted and the tireless efforts of conservationists and welfare groups, the California Senate voted 5 - 0 in favour of listing the Mountain Lion under the Endangered Species Act. The vote comes after a year of analyzation to determine if the mountain lion population needed protections under the ACT. Such a unanimous vote is something to celebrate!

The mountain lion population in California has been decimated leaving small, fragmented groups throughout the state. Most mountain lions deaths are attributed to human interference including vehicular collisions, freeway expansions that encroach on habitats, rat poisons, and sanctioned depredation kills. In fact, my original post on this story determined that mountain lions in California were on track to be extinct within the next few decades. That's why it was imperative that this vote unanimously passed offering necessary protections for mountain lions right away.

These protections will now make it necessary for local state authorities and wildlife experts to come together in determining what steps to take when considering mountain lions. This means future developments will now need to be analyzed as to whether they jeopardize mountain lions as well as looking at other issues surrounding mountain lion deaths and how to handle them. This includes reviewing the use of rat poisons, addressing vehicular collisions through the use of wildlife crossings which have been proven successful in other conservation situations, and implementing a mountain lion recovery plan.

The Endangered Species Act is the single most successful program on the planet in terms of rehabilitating a species on the brink of extinction. Listing an animal under the ESA grants them a slew of additional protections and forces local governments to address problems head on and look for reasonable solutions to rehabilitating a species. Without these protections, money is not allocated to these ideas which further pushes animals closer and closer to going extinct and authorities do not willingly work with wildlife and conservation experts to address problems. That's why votes like these are absolutely crucial in protecting animals.

Big cats on this planet are one of the most in danger group of animals. Almost all variety of cats including jaguars, lions, and tigers, face unparalleled dangers in the wild that are pushing them towards extinction. It is imperative that we come together as a global community to tackle these issues so that big cats have as much of a chance at a future as we do.

Congratulations to California for voting in favour of protecting Mountain Lions and securing a future for them.

HAPPY VEG