Former Laguna Beach City Council candidate and animal rights activist Judie Mancuso got involved in a recent debate that erupted between livestock owners in Malibu Canyon and the park service.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife issued a rancher a 10-day permit to hunt the mountain lion known as P-45, which is suspected of killing animals over Thanksgiving weekend in Malibu. An online petition that drew over 700 signatures asked wildlife regulators to rescind the permit.
Mancuso, president of Social Compassion in Legislation, took part in a meeting at Paramount Ranch with the National Park Service and animal rights activists. Mancuso also criticized the city of Laguna Beach in January when a trapper was hired to kill coyotes following 233 calls about coyote sightings and missing house pets.
Ultimately, the rancher will receive help putting up enclosures to protect her livestock and . “P45 will continue to roam free in the Santa Monica Mountains,” county Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said in a statement.
Thank goodness for people like Judie Mancuso! Why is it that fear-based, uneducated people are so tunnel-visioned that KILLING is their only option when it comes to dealing with wildlife? The slaughter has got to stop!
Kudos to Judie Mancuso for her efforts fighting for the rights and the well-being of all animals, wild and domestic. Just like the coyotes in our hills, the mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains lived in there long before humans. It is unreasonable and more than a little insane to move into areas where predators live, bring in domesticated animals with no defense mechanisms, then complain about the existence of the predators – and worse, try to wipe them out.
I’m so pleased to learn Judie and her group, Social Compassion in Legislation, are working with the rancher to help put up enclosures to protect livestock. Social compassion and thoughtful solutions are a great combination.
Ms. Mancuso, you are an inspiration! Thank you for standing up for wildlife and nonviolent solutions.