MISSOURI ADDS LAWS ON MOUNTAIN LIONS

JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Conservation Commission recently approved rule changes that affect a wide range of activities. Among these is a provision allowing Missourians to kill mountain lions under certain circumstances.

In January, Missouri recorded its first confirmed sighting of a free-living mountain lion since before the turn of the century. The sighting raised questions about what Missourians should do if they encountered mountain lions and what could be done legally to protect property and people from mountain lions.

The Conservation Commission answered the latter question with an addition to the Wildlife Code rule 3CSR10-4.130 titled, "Owner May Protect Property."

The new provision states that "Mountain lions attacking or killing livestock or domestic animals, or attacking human beings, may be killed without prior permission, but the kill must be reported immediately to an agent of the department and the mountain lion carcass must be surrendered to him/her within 24 hours."

"This isn't a blank check to go out and kill any mountain lion that turns up in Missouri, says Conservation Department Protection Division Administrator Ron Glover. "Anyone who kills one of these animals is going to have to justify that action by showing evidence that an attack occurred. Mountain lions are extremely rare here, and if there is a wild, self-sustaining population of the cats in Missouri we can't have people killing them on a whim."

The Commission also approved a minor change in rules about protecting property from damage by birds. The new provision allows the Conservation Department's director to delegate authority to department staff to authorize property owners to shoot or trap birds that are damaging property.

Another Wildlife Code change approved by the commission involves the requirement for ginseng dealers to register with the Conservation Department. In the past, any person, group or business that bought ginseng in Missouri for resale had to register. The Commission approved an exemption from this requirement for ginseng dealers who are registered in other states and who do not purchase or sell ginseng from an address in Missouri.

Glover said the Conservation Department is able to get all the information it needs about out-of-state ginseng dealers from states where they are registered. "There was no reason to make them register again in Missouri, and that's why the commission changed the regulation," he said.

The Commission added a freshwater mussel to the state's list of endangered species. Missouri has some of the best remaining habitat for the snuffbox musel, but populations of the stout, 2-inch mollusk have been declining, and biologists worry that it may become extinct without protection.