![Photo of an example of a mountain lion. Photo by Tony Hisgett [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/mynewsla.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mountainlionbig.jpg?ssl=1)
State Sen. Ben Allen is asking the state to rescind its permit to a ranch owner to shoot the giant cat.
“This is about coexistence,” Allen, D-Santa Monica, told a TV station. “Mountain lions are a really important part of the biodiversity puzzle. There are better ways for folks in the mountains to protect their animals.”
There was no immediate response from state game officials to the senator’s request.
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.
The mountain lion death order order was issued late Monday, under a state law that allows a person to shoot a mountain lion if it has been killing livestock or pets.
—City News Service