t's rhetorical question time. Who does Pete Wilson represent?
Given his ill-advised Presidential campaign, it's certainly not the people
who supported him when he promised to serve a full term as governor. Had
Republican tides been moving to his favor, he would still be planning to
abandon ship. Definitely not the people of California who are caught in
the growing tempest of urban sprawl and the associated violence. Nor is
it the mountain lions who are now the target of Governor Wilson's floundering
political machine.
Less than a week after withdrawing from the GOP presidential
skirmish, Wilson's handlers decided their boss needed to flex his political
muscle after having been virtually ignored in the national arena. To prove
his manhood was still intact, he set his sights on a community of Californians
that have no voice, no choice, and because of the ever-expanding circle
of human encroachment, no place to run.In Sacramento, the governor stated, "Mountain lions
are a symbol of California rugged wildlife, but they've become frequent
visitors to our neighborhoods." Wilson also said, "With two fatal
attacks in 1994 and lion incidents occurring at the rate of nearly one per
day, it's critical to return management of the cougar to the wildlife professionals
at Fish and Game."In response to Pete's statements, I would like to point
out that most of California has been the mountain lion's "neighborhood"
long before civilization appeared. Both of the fatal incidents happened
in mountain lion habitat, not in the playground of a local elementary school.
If Mr. Wilson is referring to any sighting of a lion as a "incident,"
then sign me up for an "incident."Death is not the issue. The 'staggering' total of 14
fatalities attributable to cougars in more than 200 years are dwarfed by
the thousands killed each year by alcohol and cigarettes. Propaganda issued
by hunting enthusiasts claim that mountain lions kill pets and live stock.
To provide a bit of balance, far more pets end up as road kill than lion
dinners.If humans can have dinner on the hoof, why can't felis
concolor? Don't bother sending me letters with the answer, I already know:
cash + testosterone. The hunter doesn't care about the welfare of an ecosystem,
he just cares about getting a rush off of trying to kill the few remaining
predators with a 20th century gun. The rancher doesn't care about the welfare
of the calf; he simply doesn't want to lose the profit from its death. In
the words of Wendell Berry, "In plenitude too free, we have become
adept beneath the yoke of greed." I am certain that both Iris Kenna and Barbara Schoener
would be outraged to know that their unfortunate deaths had made them poster
children for the sport hunting and agriculture lobby's attempt to drive
the California mountain lion to extinction. If only Pete would have showed
similar moral outrage when a wrong turn led to a barrage of gang gunfire
and the shooting death of a toddler still strapped in her car seat. The current mountain lion population here in the Golden
State is estimated at no more than 6,000, in contrast to the 35 million
people crowded into an overburdened infrastructure. Add to that 800,000
beef cattle and 945,000 sheep to feed all those armchair predators. I would
say human overpopulation is a threat to public safety, public health and
anything else that gets in the way of manifest destiny - mountain lions
included.Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Pete Wilson has signed
Senate Bill 28 which was introduced by Senator Tim Leslie (R-Carnelian Bay),
placing the measure on the March primary ballot. If the measure were to
win, it would repeal the special protected status that was provided by Proposition
117 in 1990. This an obvious attempt to resume sport hunting: Prop. 117
already allows for professional hunters to kill specific animals that endanger
humans, livestock and pets.If put back in the hands of Fish and Game, you can expect
high priced hunting permits and a waiting list a mile long for people who
want their shot at big game. Don't have enough money to shoot elephants
in Africa? Just hang out in your back yard, According to the pro-hunting
spin doctors, it won't be long before you will have to protect your family
and FiFi, your frantic poodle, from one of the marauding predators.Some Westerners tell you that animals have no rights,
and that human interests take precedence of all. But they're not talking
about humans in general; they're talking about themselves. Wildlife is no
longer the only target. Those working to protect western ecosystems are
being threatened with guns. One rancher in New Mexico has threatened to
shoot anyone trying to remove his cattle from federal land.Isn't it odd how human beings can overlook the most
heinous of crimes in other humans, but not allow mountain lions to live
according to the law of the jungle? Eat or be eaten, it doesn't get more
basic than that. Humans have decided that they can eat anything they want,
including mountain lions, yet refuse to allow themselves to be dinner. If
we are going to deal out justice, it should be equally dispersed. Iris Kenna
is killed, and the alleged animal is shot. Yet Jeffery Dahlmer cannibalizes
young men and boys and is given free room and board for life. If we were
to kill everyone and everything that is a threat to human life, we would
have to execute those responsible for oil refineries, breast implants, and
Agent Orange.If you're reading this article, it probably means you
care about the environment and the other species that share it with us.
If you care, that means you vote, and if you vote, you're making a difference.
In March of '96, all of us will be needed to take a stand for the mountain
lion. We need to make sure the cry for environmental justice is not a lone
voice in the wilderness, but a voice for the wilderness and everything it
represents.The task ahead of us is not an easy one. Against those
seeking to destroy environmental regulations and protected species with
big money, subterfuge, and firearms, we must become eco-warriors in the
courts, canyons - and most important - the voting booth. The battle lines
have been drawn, and I say we are up to the challenge. 
Robert Nanninga is an independent video producer, actor, vegan and
active member of the Green and environmental community.
