A conservation group is suing the Arizona Game and Fish Department over its rules surrounding mountain lion sport hunting.
The lawsuit seeks to stop the issuance of hunting permits until the state’s mountain lion population has “recovered and is sustainable.”
Robin Silver is the co-founder of the non-profit Center for Biological Diversity.
He says their lawsuit is based on data showing that more than half of the mountain lions killed by hunters are kittens or juveniles.
“The Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Arizona Game and Fish Commission won’t respect their own data. We don’t have a choice. We need to have a judge help educate them,” Silver said.
Game and Fish officials have yet to comment, citing the pending litigation. The mountain lion hunting season starts later in August.