SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The president of California’s Fish and Game Commission is facing an ethics complaint after coming under fire for killing a mountain lion in Idaho.
The complaint filed Thursday with the Fair Political Practices Commission alleges that Dan Richards illegally accepted a $6,800 gift from the Flying B Ranch in Idaho. The complaint says he didn’t pay the full fee charged to other guests who go on guided lion hunts.
Under state law, officials can’t accept gifts of more than $420 a year.
The ethics complaint is the latest salvo against Richards after a photo surfaced of him holding the dead animal. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and 40 Democratic Assembly members have joined animal rights groups in calling for his resignation.
Hunting mountain lions is banned in California, though it’s legal in Idaho and other states.
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