Anti-Bullying Bill Passed to Protect California Bears and Bobcats

After sad reports that a lost mountain lion was shot near the Santa Monica Promenade this morning to protect public safety, it was welcomed news that the California Senate passed an animal-protection bill that would ban bear and bobcat bullying.

In a practice known as hounding, sport hunters use packs of dogs to chase bears and bobcats until they're too tired to run and trapped. Then a signal goes off on the dog collars alerting the hunters that it is safe to approach the wild animals.

According to the Human Society, it's equally cruel and dangerous to the dogs who are often injured in the encounters.

“California has a long history of protecting its resources and protecting animal welfare,” Senator Ted W. Lieu said in a statement. “The practice of hound hunting often leads to them being injured, lost or killed, and their continued use runs counters to California’s reputation as a humane state. Hound hunting of bears is illegal in two-thirds of the United States; the time has come for California to abolish this inhumane and unnecessary practice.”

Other major bear-hunting states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, do not permit hounding, according to the statement.