Dan Richards, Happy Cougar-Hunter, Gets Fired From His Post as Fish and Game Chief

By Erin Sherbert Wed., Aug. 8 2012 at 3:20 PM

Fired!

Dan Richards, the notorious bureaucrat who gunned down a mountain lion on his hunting trip to Idaho earlier this year, has been canned from his job as president of the California Fish and Game Commission.

His colleagues reportedly voted in favor of removing the unpopular Richards as president of the board. However, Richards says he will remain on the commission until his seat is up in six months, according to news reports. Richards has defended a photo that circulated on the Internet; the photo shows him posing with the body of a massive cat he had killed during a hunting spree in Idaho earlier this year. Although he didn't do anything illegal, because killing mountain lions is okay in Idaho, his trigger-happy ways didn't sit well with residents of the Golden State, where it is illegal to hunt cougars.

In fact, animal-lovers and regular people across the state called on Richards to resign, saying he shouldn't be allowed (or trusted) to enforce laws to protect cougars if he's going to take weekend trips to hunt them elsewhere.

Petitions were circulated, and a slew of state politicians, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, asked Richards to resign. Richards fired back, saying there wasn't a chance he'd step down from his post. In fact, he wasn't sorry at all, telling lawmakers, "I will continue to hunt and fish wherever I please."

Not in California, he won't.

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Tags:

California Fish and Game, Dan Richards, Golden State, Idaho, Mountain Lion, trigger-happy

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blaine20

Hopefully there will be a wrongful termination lawsuit which will pay Mr. Richards enough so that he as able to leave California and move to a free state. I used to like to come to California but now I am afraid to cross the border as I fear the loss of freedoms while traveling there.

evelyn.a.myers

@blaine20 freedoms as in paying someone to hunt down an animal for sport? please.

Catherine Foreman

Yay! I wrote to Fish & Game about this guy. He's a total a-hole.

meatsack

The guy did something legal in another state, he did something offensive to simpletons in this state. That is his major crime.

Letting predators run wild will kill off the animals they prey on, thus screwing up the balance of nature. Guess what? Humans have ruined mother natures scheme, so the people who blather on about this guy killing off some animal (although in a very candy ass sort of way) have now taken the creationist position on the subject.

Creationists and anti-hunters share a common belief, god will organize it all.

loyalop1

Good to see that California has it priorities straight, said no one ever.

earthmother

Mr. Richards poor decision had consequences, no one else is responsible for his choices.

Next time, Don't Fool with Mother Nature.

Sean Kerns

Piece of shit?? That pretty strong coming from a broccoli murder!!! And he did get relieved as president but he didn't lose his seat on the board. BTW...you should be thankful for hunters....without them you wouldn't enjoy half as much "wilderness" as you currently do. They buy up federal land and protect it from loggers. They buy up wetlands and restore them for wildlife. I always wonder where there kind of hate comes from? Maybe you should take a long look in the mirror. Don't forget to thank the hunters for pouring millions of dollars into conservation next time you go for a hike.... and lighten up!