Dead Cougar Horrifies Malibu, Action Demanded
Written by 991KBU on May 2, 2019
The horrifying picture of a dead mountain lion … killed by rat poison … has hit a nerve in Malibu.
Mountain lion P-47 was a 150-pound male cougar … he had toxic amounts of six different anticoagulant compounds in his liver.
The poison caused bleeding in his head and his lungs … he drowned in his own blood.
City councilman Mikke Pierson wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that he is horrified bu the rodenticides and the death and suffering they are causing the wildlife in our local mountains.
Pierson says “this has to end now.”
Poison Free Malibu has worked for years to end the sale and use of rodent poison … both in Malibu and beyond.
The group says 80 to 90 percent of the predator wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains have rat poison exposure.
This includes owls, hawks, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, and mountain lions.
The California Wildlife Center is reporting a surge in poisoning cases due to the drastic reduction in wildlife habitat from the Woolsey Fire.
Wild animals are foraging closer to homes … and eating poisoned rodents.
Poison Free Malibu notes that it is illegal to use rat poison in the unincorporated areas of Malibu … out in Los Angeles County.
And they want a similar ban inside the city limits.
There’s a disagreement over whether that is rally legal.
The pesticide industry and farmers have won a statewide bill that prohibits cities and counties from banning rat poison.
L A County has been ordered by the Coastal Commission … a state agency … to ban the poison.
That gets them around the state law … but the city attorney here feels that is not quite legal.
Poison Free Malibu has sent out letters … asking residents to demand that the city take up the Coastal Commission avenue to ban rat poison in Malibu.
