Charges possible in killing of cougar who attacked DOG
TheGreatwhitehunter
10/10/07 7:17pm
By Heath Urie, Daily Camera
Boulder, Colorado
October 10, 2007
The man who shot and killed a mountain lion last week in defense of his puppy should face criminal charges for "baiting" the animal, a wildlife-advocacy group said yesterday.
Wendy Keefover-Ring, director of the Boulder-based Sinapu Carnivore Protection Program, said state prosecutors should cite Jeremy Kocar for enticing the mountain lion by leaving his dog tied up outside overnight.
Kocar also should face charges of shooting a cougar out of hunting season — which runs Nov. 20 through March 31 — shooting without a hunting license, and animal cruelty for leaving the puppy out without the protection of a covered kennel, Keefover-Ring said.
"I think it's absolutely negligent," Keefover-Ring said. "If you're living in mountain-lion country, it's common sense that you don't tether a dog outside. He needs to be made an example of."
Kocar, 31, killed the big cat early Friday morning after finding Duke, an 8-month-old Rottweiler-Labrador mix, trapped in the cougar's jaws outside his trailer near Nederland.
Kocar said the cougar turned toward him and took an aggressive posture, prompting him to fire a round at the cougar's head.
"I'm from Wisconsin — and we take care of things there," Kocar told the Camera on Monday.
Kocar could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon, but Dana Fox, his mother-in-law, told the Camera from her Wisconsin home that her son-in-law and his wife, Angela Kocar, 25, and their children — Alena, 4, and Jacob, 8 months — are still shaken by the incident.
"They're afraid right now," Fox said. "(They) won't go outside to go walk the dogs without turning on the car lights. And, they're afraid of being fined — they don't know what's going to happen. My granddaughter is all upset that 'Daddy's going to get in trouble.' He's a hero to her."
Fox said Kocar was faced with a potentially life-threatening situation when the cat "took three crouching steps" toward him.
"He just felt there was nothing else he could do except put that gun up there and take a shot," Fox said. "I don't see anything criminal about it."
Wildlife officials yesterday said it would be another day or two before officers investigating the shooting would determine whether Kocar will face any charges for the shooting.
Colorado Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said the case is part of a "gray area," since the law allows people to shoot wildlife to protect livestock but not pets.
Boulder County sheriff's Cmdr. Phil West said it is typically legal to chain up dogs outside at night, as long as it's not done in a cruel manner. Whether that's a good idea, he said, is another issue.
The family is living out of a trailer parked in a mountain clearing while they work on a wildfire mitigation project for West Range Reclamation, and were not familiar with Colorado or the native wildlife, Fox said.
"They feel very bad about the animal having to be shot," Fox said. "They just didn't know that mountain lions would come up like that. Yes, it was a mistake on their part to have the dog out, but it certainly wasn't baiting. It wasn't a planned kill."
Boulder, Colorado
October 10, 2007
The man who shot and killed a mountain lion last week in defense of his puppy should face criminal charges for "baiting" the animal, a wildlife-advocacy group said yesterday.
Wendy Keefover-Ring, director of the Boulder-based Sinapu Carnivore Protection Program, said state prosecutors should cite Jeremy Kocar for enticing the mountain lion by leaving his dog tied up outside overnight.
Kocar also should face charges of shooting a cougar out of hunting season — which runs Nov. 20 through March 31 — shooting without a hunting license, and animal cruelty for leaving the puppy out without the protection of a covered kennel, Keefover-Ring said.
"I think it's absolutely negligent," Keefover-Ring said. "If you're living in mountain-lion country, it's common sense that you don't tether a dog outside. He needs to be made an example of."
Kocar, 31, killed the big cat early Friday morning after finding Duke, an 8-month-old Rottweiler-Labrador mix, trapped in the cougar's jaws outside his trailer near Nederland.
Kocar said the cougar turned toward him and took an aggressive posture, prompting him to fire a round at the cougar's head.
"I'm from Wisconsin — and we take care of things there," Kocar told the Camera on Monday.
Kocar could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon, but Dana Fox, his mother-in-law, told the Camera from her Wisconsin home that her son-in-law and his wife, Angela Kocar, 25, and their children — Alena, 4, and Jacob, 8 months — are still shaken by the incident.
"They're afraid right now," Fox said. "(They) won't go outside to go walk the dogs without turning on the car lights. And, they're afraid of being fined — they don't know what's going to happen. My granddaughter is all upset that 'Daddy's going to get in trouble.' He's a hero to her."
Fox said Kocar was faced with a potentially life-threatening situation when the cat "took three crouching steps" toward him.
"He just felt there was nothing else he could do except put that gun up there and take a shot," Fox said. "I don't see anything criminal about it."
Wildlife officials yesterday said it would be another day or two before officers investigating the shooting would determine whether Kocar will face any charges for the shooting.
Colorado Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said the case is part of a "gray area," since the law allows people to shoot wildlife to protect livestock but not pets.
Boulder County sheriff's Cmdr. Phil West said it is typically legal to chain up dogs outside at night, as long as it's not done in a cruel manner. Whether that's a good idea, he said, is another issue.
The family is living out of a trailer parked in a mountain clearing while they work on a wildfire mitigation project for West Range Reclamation, and were not familiar with Colorado or the native wildlife, Fox said.
"They feel very bad about the animal having to be shot," Fox said. "They just didn't know that mountain lions would come up like that. Yes, it was a mistake on their part to have the dog out, but it certainly wasn't baiting. It wasn't a planned kill."
6,501
By Vanessa Miller, Daily Camera
October 10, 2007
BOULDER - Only stars and the glimmer from a 140-pound mountain lion's fierce gaze provided light in the midnight darkness of Boulder County's foothills for Jeremy Kocar to aim his rifle.
Still, Kocar said his eyes adjusted "quick enough" when the cougar looked up from the puppy in its clutches.
"I took the shot, and that was the end of it," said Kocar, 31, who now finds himself facing possible criminal charges for shooting the adult male lion.
It's been three days since Kocar said he saved his family's Rottweiler-Labrador mix, Duke - and possibly his own life - by shooting the lion that attacked the 8-month-old puppy.
But, Kocar said, it will be much longer before he is able to get over the moment he stared down the cat as it crouched in a "pouncing" position.
"That's one thing you don't ever want - you don't want to come face-to-face with a lion," Kocar said Monday while standing outside the trailer that he, his wife and their two children are living in near Nederland.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife confiscated the cougar Kocar killed about 1:30 a.m. Friday in a clearing east of Gross Reservoir. Wildlife officers are reviewing the shooting, and DOW spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said her agency is "investigating what will happen to the person who shot the lion."
According to Colorado law, it is legal "to trap, kill or otherwise dispose of bears, mountain lions or dogs in situations when it is necessary to prevent them from inflicting death or injury to livestock or human life."
That is exactly what Kocar said he was doing when the lion tucked Duke under his belly, as if "it was protecting its kill," and turned its attention to Kocar.
After her husband shot the lion, Angela Kocar drove five miles to where she could get reception on her cell phone and called 911.
Since the shooting, the couple said about 20 neighbors have stopped by to thank them. Many area residents said they suspect the lion was responsible for killing a miniature horse and a 60-pound Australian shepherd and attacking several other pets.
"I'm from Wisconsin - and we take care of things there," Kocar said.
That is some of the stupidest crud I have heard. ](*,)
I guarantee you I wouldn't think twice about shooting an animal under those circumstances. However, if this guy gets punished I think a few people may think twice about reporting it to the authorities in the future.
20 sq miles surrounded by Reality :-k (???) :>/
If he's charged I believe there needs to be a change to the law. I'll protect my family AND my dogs and won't think twice about it!