SPCA CRITICAL OF PUMA KILLING : STATE AGENCY TARGET OF IRE.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lambasted the Department of Fish and Game on Thursday for fatally shooting a mountain lion resting among cactus in the hilly back yard of a Valencia home.

But California Fish and Game officials countered that the 80-pound female mountain lion was destroyed Tuesday because it a threat to the residential neighborhood, filled with children.

SPCA officials based in Los Angeles argued that there were other options.

``Killing every wild animal that encroaches into the city is not the answer. Fish and Game officials had the availability of tranquilizers, in addition to Los Angeles Zoo staff and veterinary aid on hand ready to relocate the animal,'' SPCA Executive Director Madeline Bernstein said in a prepared statement.

Bernstein further called for Gov. Pete Wilson to order a thorough review of the department's policies and procedures to protect native species.

``As a society, we must not tolerate the death penalty for our innocent wildlife as a first resort, but only as a means of last resort,'' she said.

Officials in Wilson's Resources Agency, which oversees Fish and Game, were not available for comment Thursday afternoon.

State wardens said the plan was to shoot the puma with tranquilizer darts, but they, and two tracking hounds, were unable to corner the animal, said Fish and Game spokesman Patrick Moore.

It can take up to 12 minutes for the tranquilizer to take effect, Moore said. In this time, the animal could become angry, run out of sight from wardens, and come in contact with somebody.

If the mountain lion were in a wild environment, rather than a populated neighborhood, wardens might have tried another method, officials said.

Meanwhile, the SPCA also called for an ``intense education campaign'' to teach people how to live in communities close to wildlife, such as keeping pets indoors and eliminating food sources.

Los Angeles Zoo officials said they also hope to help educate and work with Fish and Game to provide more expertise.

``Maybe in the future, we can work together from the start. The more expertise you have there, the better,'' said Cynthia Stringfield, a veterinarian at the L.A. Zoo's health center.

Zoo officials arrived just 15 minutes after the cougar was hit with three blasts from a shotgun. They had hoped to relocate it to the wild. At first, zoo veterinarians reacted angrily toward Fish and Game officials, questioning them about their actions.

``It's a very emotional issue to be racing in your truck and to find a beautifully healthy mountain lion dead. It's upsetting. We like to save mountain lions,'' Stringfield said.

Residents in the neighborhood in which the lion was shot were divided on the issue. While some argued officials should have tried to save the cougar, which did not display aggressive behavior, others said the mountain lion should die rather than put their children at risk.