Mamakating, NY (WRGB) — A tip from a frequent shopper sent Environmental Conservation Officers to an antique store in Mamakating, where investigators say a mounted mountain lion head was being offered for sale.
On July 29, ECOs in Sullivan County responded to the store after receiving the tip. An undercover officer found the mounted head in the back of the store and made a deal to purchase it as a uniformed officer responded to the location.
Despite claims from the store owner and an employee that they didn’t know it was illegal to sell the mountain lion head, ECOs charged the owner with illegal commercialization of a prohibited species. The charge is returnable to the Town of Mamakating Court.
ECOs also confiscated the mounted head as evidence.