Mountain lions won't be classified as varmints

By Joe Kafka, The Associated Press Monday, February 11, 2008

PIERRE -- Marauding mountain lions that may or may not be menaces got some leniency Monday in the South Dakota Legislature.

The House rejected a bill 26-46 that would have designated the big cats as predators if found outside the Black Hills Fire Protection District.

Rep. Betty Olson, R-Prairie City, offered HB1171, which would have let people with predator or varmint licenses hunt lions across most of the state.

Wandering lions pose a threat to not only livestock but also humans, Olson said.

"They are very large, very dangerous predators and it is only a matter of time before somebody is eaten in South Dakota," she said.

Opponents said the state should not allow the big cats to be shot indiscriminately.

People have an irrational fear of mountain lions, said Rep. Mike Buckingham, R-Rapid City. "Let's not turn these gorgeous animals into something that's hunted without relief," he said.

Mountain lions are dangerous, and their numbers are increasing across the state, said Rep. Gordon Howie, R-Rapid City. Howie said he carries a large caliber pistol in case he runs into a lion when tending to his livestock.

"They are killing machines. That's the way they live," he said.

"This isn't some kind of wacko proposal to eliminate mountain lions from the face of the earth," Howie said in favor of HB1171.

Cattle and dogs are more of a threat to people than mountain lions, countered Rep. Don Van Etten, R-Rapid City.

"Maybe we should designate bulls as varmints," he said.

Approving the bill would allow nonresidents to also hunt mountain lions in South Dakota, and they would come in large numbers, Van Etten said, urging rejection of the measure.