Conservation commissioners from Missouri on Friday removed the mountain lion from the state’s endangered species list but not for the reasons you might think. There is not a breeding group of lions present there, according to commissioners and they want it to stay that way. Missouri has no wishes to allow the mountain lion to re-establish itself out of concerns for livestock protection and public safety.
This brought an uproar from the environmental and animal rights groups.
“I think it is outrageous,” said Ted Heisel, executive director of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. “Here is one of the more charismatic species that our state once had. The mountain lion is native to Missouri.”
Heisel said it is “troubling” that the commission charged with protecting wildlife took such a position.
“They’re denying reality,” said Ken Midkiff, conservation chairman of the Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club. “I don’t think there is any doubt that there is a population.”
Tom Remington
