Inves.on lion shooting

Investigation begins on lion shooting
From the Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7128720

This article caught my eye as I began looking through Denver Post's new acticles; One: because I was generally interested in this topic; Two: I'm what would be considered the "out-doorsy" type. I like knowing my out doors enviornment, and when something happens, I have a concern for my Rocky Mountain of a home. This article reported on the investigation of a moutnain lion shooting. A man, who was mentioned to be from out-of-state, was staying up in a home near Gross Reservoir (west of Boulder), when he heard his dog barking outside at 1:30 a.m., saw that the lion was attacking his dog, then shot and killed the lion.

When I read the first half of this article, my mind was saying, "Don't you have the right to protect your dog? You can't just let it get mauled by some mountain lion, can you? Or at least I couldn't." I felt like this man had every right to protect his dog. The man said he even felt threatened by the lion, which that itself borders on self-defense. As I read on, the article quoted Jennifer Churchill (Colorado Division of Wildlife),

"'You have the legal right to protect your personal safety, your personal property and your livestock," Churchill said. "A pet dog is not considered any of those. '"

Hmm, but isn't there some right that says, "I can protect my dog if being eaten by a mountain lion"? I began to get a little angry with this. But as I read the other half of the article, my mind saw the other side of the situation.

" 'But more and more people are moving into lion country. And more and more people are leaving their pets outside. They are real easy prey for mountain lions,' she said. "

If people are moving onto what they know is mountain lion country, they need to know the pre-cautions of living on their territory; Leaving your pet outside, unsupervised, is one of them. This made me question the guy who claimed to have shot the lion.....What was his dog doing outside in the middle of the night anyway? Now I have to admit, that's not being smart. That, to me, is basically asking a hungry mountain lion to come eat my dog. Now to answer the question of whether this man should be charged for shooting the lion....As much as I feel for the man and his poor dog, I believe his lack of responsibility for his pet over- powers his right to shoot the lion. Don't be too hard on the guy, I'm sure we've all had our fair share of being irresponsible.