The ranch owner issued a permit to shoot a mountain lion believed to have killed scores of animals in Malibu over the last eight months said Wednesday she's seeking a permit to capture it instead.
Victoria Vaughn-Perling said in a news release that she was recently issued a permit to kill Mountain Lion P-45 with a gun within 10 days. She said the lion has killed 20 alpacas and at least 65 other animals belonging to neighbors in the last eight months. She wants the state to issue her a permit to trap, tranquilize and transport the mountain lion to an animal sanctuary.
"I obtained the kill permit in order to save P-45's life," said Vaughn-Perling in a news release. "P-45 has been very aggressive and active in the area, and a kill permit was issued by the Department of Fish & Wildlife earlier this year to another neighbor about a mile away. That resulted in P-45 being wounded by a rifle shot, but fortunately he survived. It is only a matter of time when someone will get a kill permit, and successfully kill P-45."
A community meeting was being held to discuss the issue.
On Tuesday, Sen. Ben Allen asked the state to rescind its permit to shoot the mountain lion.
"This is about coexistence," Allen, D-Santa Monica, said. "Mountain lions are a really important part of the biodiversity puzzle. There are better ways for folks in the mountains to to protect their animals."
Ten alpaca were killed at one ranch near Mulholland Highway at Decker Canyon Road Saturday. At a second, nearby location, one goat and another alpaca were torn apart Sunday.
A state game warden determined the animals were killed by a mountain lion, and a male named P-45 was "strongly suspected" to have been the culprit, said Andrew Houghan of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A depredation order was issued late Monday afternoon, under a state law that allows a person to shoot a mountain lion if it has been killing livestock or pets.
