Douglas N. Brower: So much sympathy for cougars, not so much for their victims

Re “Voters banned cougar hunts, but killing didn’t stop” (Front page, Nov. 5): Your sympathetic treatment of mountain lions hid the single most important fact: Since Proposition 117 passed in 1990, mountain lions directly killed three Californians and severely injured many more. In the preceding 100 years, back to 1891, not one single Californian died in a direct mountain lion attack.

I don’t blame mountain lions for following their genetic programming. I blame gullible voters who allowed this tragedy. If you voted yes on Prop 117, then you are responsible for the deaths and mutilations of those innocent people. If you continue to value mountain lions higher than people, then you are responsible for future deaths and mutilations. Shame on you.

This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Douglas N. Brower: So much sympathy for cougars, not so much for their victims."