Group wants man charged for lion death

Daily Camera ^ | October 10, 2007 | Heath Urie

[george76]

Mother-in-law of shooter says he had no choice but to shoot.

A man who shot and killed a mountain lion last week in defense of his puppy should face criminal charges in the incident for "baiting" the animal, a wildlife-advocacy group said Tuesday.

Wendy Keefover-Ring, director of the Boulder-based Sinapu Carnivore Protection Program, said state prosecutors should cite Jeremy Kocar for baiting the mountain lion by leaving his dog tied up outside overnight.

Kocar also should face charges of shooting a cougar out of hunting season, which runs Nov. 20 through March 31, shooting without a hunting license and animal cruelty for leaving the puppy out without the protection of a covered kennel, Keefover-Ring said.

"I think it's absolutely negligent," Keefover-Ring said. "If you're living in mountain-lion country, it's common sense that you don't tether a dog outside.

"He needs to be made an example of."

Kocar, 31, killed the big cat early Friday morning after discovering Duke, his family's 8-month-old Rottweiler-Labrador mix, trapped in the cougar's jaws outside his Nederland-area trailer.

Kocar said the cougar turned toward him and took an aggressive posture, prompting him to fire a round at the cougar's head.

[fish hawk]

We have Lion and Bear problems up on our Reservation but we can kill just about anything but another human without a permit or permission from the Cal. Fish and Game. We have our own game wardens and no Cal. Fish and Game on the Rez. You do need a permit, though, to transfer it off the Rez.

[george76]

Thanks.

[rlmorel]

Thanks...having never owned a dog as a work animal, I think I get the idea.

[Travis McGee]

I’d say you’ve spent a fair amount of time around livestock and dogs, judging by #80. Well said.

Love to hear your feelings toward horses. Closer to livestock, or dogs?

[meyer]

"I think it's absolutely negligent," Keefover-Ring said. "If you're living in mountain-lion country, it's common sense that you don't tether a dog outside.

Wrong, Wendy of many last names. What's negligent is to live in mountain lion country without a good rifle. The man did the right thing, defending his dog.

[B4Ranch]

Exactly the same as dogs. I’m glad that dogs don’t wear steel shoes.

[B4Ranch]

Sharing lunch or a beer is about all the pampering I’m capable of. OK maybe a belly rub once in a while can be added to the list.

[Travis McGee]

Yep, a horse can put the hurt on you for sure.

[Cold Heart]

I’ve been thrown off horses & broken ribs & had my foot crushed with a dynamic stomp. But I found out how tough I really was a couple months ago when my wife’s horse kicked me (really hard) in the .!. I was able to close the gate & tie the offending horse to a hitch, get my grandsons safely in the house, & put some ice on .!. Only when the tasks were done did I go into a mild shock.

Wife says if things get really bad and we have to eat our horses, we can eat hers first.

[kitchen]

Exactly the same as dogs. I’m glad that dogs don’t wear steel shoes.

A friend's wife decided she wanted a few of those miniature horses. They grew a few inches too tall to show but they kept them as pets. Never shod, fortunately, because they had the run of the house and still beat the heck out of it. In the summer the doors were always wide open and the horses were everywhere - upstairs, downstairs, sleeping on the couch. Ornery little buggers too. They took great pleasure in sneaking up behind you and nipping you on the butt.

[B4Ranch]

IMO, not all animals should be allowed in our homes but to each his own. Were these cute little critters housebroken?

[Gilbo_3]

Wife & I had two of the best dogs in the world that adopted us [long story], one was squished out on the two lane last year, his brother was occasionally runnin & fightin with a bunch of feral dogs that seemed to orbit a particular bitch dog every 'season'. he's been gone a few months now.

point is they were free spirits when they came to us, and we had no way to fence them, nor did we wish to tie them.

Damned if you do, damned if you dont, but any dangerous animal in my yard is being dealt with before it gets a chance to kill again. Including people...

[kitchen]

Housebroken? I think so, never noticed otherwise. I think it started because when they acquired the rascals they were young and needed special feeding and protection from the -40 winter nights. They had a barn and pasture right off the porch and the horses as adults spent the night in the barn. Daytime was a different story. Kinda odd to drive up their lane and have a couple horses poke their heads out the door. LOL

[oldenuff2no]

Of course precautions should be made against predators of all kids. So take your idiot comment and eat it with raw crow. Becoming hysterical sure won’t help when the lions come after you.

I think your a little upside down on your response. I do live in lion country and I’m not at all fond of them. I’ve hunted, trapped and killed more lions that you have ever seen. The way the laws are now I can’t touch them anymore and that sucks. I’m also a dog trainer and have dogs all around my house.
I’m very sorry that you failed to understand and felt the need to start calling people names.
As I have said in here before I hope that when the next kid is killed by a lion that the kids parents have to be interrupted at the local tree hugger gathering to hear the bad news.

[oldenuff2no]

I have to add one more thing. I have horses and mules around my home. If a lion show up around my livestock I can take him down every time. I don’t keep dogs tied up they are either in my kennels, in my house or inside of a high fence. About a year ago a female lion with two kittens wandered a little too close to the houses. The dogs got wind of her and the next morning they found one of the kittens dead, the other one hiding and mama cat long gone. All of this right out behind our home. People who talk about mountain lions should take the time to know what they are talking about and what they are like. Mountain lions live to breed and eat. That’s all they do.

[driftdiver]

” I’m very sorry that you failed to understand and felt the need to start calling people names.”

I don’t appreciate being called an idiot. You made a personal attack. Your attack was hysterical.

Personally I hope no kids are killed. In reality I know that its gonna happen but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

[jasrfreeman]

I have a feed box I built to feed my cats, it sets in the garage so they can eat whenever. It also feeds any neighbors cat that what partake. Then there are the opossum, skunk, raccoon, and anything else thats to eat. My wife has seen the wild animals and our cats pass each other coming and going. But youngest cat, just under a year got curious and tangled with abig opossum, almost lost his eye. So I dispatched the opossum to opossum heaven with a .22 cal LR shot to the head.

[george76]

The Colorado Division of Wildlife will not file charges against a man who shot and killed a mountain lion ...

Officials found that Jeremy Kocar, 31, “acted to prevent injury to human life,”...

“We do believe the gentleman was acting in the interest of his personal safety, and that’s why we are not going to be filing charges,”

“It’s very important that people realize they can protect themselves in this type of situation,” Churchill said. “If we were not sure the man was protecting his personal safety, then the charges definitely would have been filed.”

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5721044,00.html

[george76]

Advocates with the Boulder-based Sinapu Carnivore Protection Program said Kocar should face criminal charges in the incident for “baiting” the lion by leaving the dog tied up outside overnight.

Wendy Keefover-Ring, director of the program...

[george76]

Kocar, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, has said he feared for his life and the lives of his wife and two young children when the lion crouched and moved toward him.

A necropsy on the lion is still pending, Churchill said, to help determine whether the cat was involved in any other recent attacks on pets in the area.