• Donate Now
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us
Thursday, June 8, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
Big Cat Rescue
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Big Cat Rescue
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Big Cat Rescue
No Result
View All Result
Home News World

Pet mountain lion mauls child

BCR by BCR
October 17, 2011
in News World
51
3
Typical Mountain Lion Cage

Typical Mountain Lion Cage

45
SHARES
895
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

Pet mountain lion mauls child

Owners told to replace cage in July

Typical Mountain Lion Cage
Typical Mountain Lion Cage
October 17, 2011 10:59 AM
BY JON VANDERLAAN

A 4-year-old boy was mauled by a pet mountain lion Sunday afternoon, but no charges have been filed and definitive answers about the legality of the animal being kept as a pet have been elusive.

 

The boy received lacerations and puncture wounds on his left side, including a bite mark on the left side of his face during the attack around 3:15 p.m. Sunday in West Odessa, Sgt. Gary Duesler with the Ector County Sheriff’s Office said.

 

He was taken to Medical Center Hospital, but neither his name nor his condition was available Monday.

 

Amber Michelle Couch, 9450 W. 26th St., who owned the mountain lion, was given a citation for not keeping up with the vaccines on the animal, Cpl. Sherrie Carruth with the Odessa Police Department said. According to a neighbor and family member, Couch is the boy’s aunt.

 

That woman who identified herself as a family member of the two women involved – the mountain lion’s owner and the mother of the child – said the mother of the child did not want a story to run in the newspaper about it and that the family would not speak about it.

 

Duesler said Monday morning that the county would not pursue any criminal charges and would defer to the city for any such charges, but Carruth said the house is outside of the city’s jurisdiction.

 

“Our animal control is hoping they would follow up on endangerment charges for the child,” Carruth said.

 

Because animal control officers are not licensed peace officers, Carruth said they could not do anything more than cite the owner.

 

After several calls between the two agencies, during which neither would claim responsibility for taking further potential legal action, Sheriff Mark Donaldson changed the tone and did not rule out charges.

 

Donaldson said the investigation has not yielded any evidence to suggest a criminal charge is warranted, but the office will continue to work with the district and county attorney offices to determine whether charges can be filed.

 

The mountain lion was being held in a cage just behind the fence line on the property’s front yard, somewhat obstructed from street view by tall bushes.

 

Carruth said the 12-year-old mountain lion, which weighed about 150 lbs., was euthanized and its head is being sent to a lab to test for rabies.

 

“He was in a cage that had large openings,” she said. “So if you stood close to it, he could reach out.”

 

In fact, the cage was a point of scrutiny during an animal control visit in July, Carruth said, when the owners of the cat were told the cage was too small and gaps in the cage were too large.

 

Carruth said the owners did nothing to fix the problems, resulting in the attack.

 

But despite previous statements by Carruth earlier Monday that it was legal for the woman to have the animal on her property, the Odessa American discovered that Texas and county laws declare dangerous animals such as that in unincorporated areas must be registered, and even then owners must adhere to a strict set of rules.

 

The animal wasn’t registered, although Carruth said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department told animal control in July that it did not need to be.

 

Chris Mitchell, a spokesman with the TPWD, said there would be no circumstance under which the department would advise anyone they did not need a permit for a mountain lion.

 

Even in the certain situations when a permit may be issued, such as for research or rehabilitation, he said the TPWD does not issue such permits and that would be left to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.

 

“You have to have a reason to have a mountain lion like that,” he said.

 

A man who would only identify himself as James is a neighbor and said he heard the commotion Sunday and was the person who called 9-1-1.

 

“I heard someone say, ‘He’s got him.’ That’s all I heard, just screaming and chaos,” he said. “And you could hear them saying, ‘Somebody call 9-1-1. Somebody get a gun.’”

 

It was then he said he told his wife and children to go inside, fearing for their safety if someone fired a gun or if the mountain lion got loose.

 

James said he saw the boy being carried into the ambulance and also saw the mountain lion carried into an animal control truck. He said it took two men to lift the cat.

 

Despite having never seen the mountain lion before, James said his wife told him she heard the animal roar but he didn’t believe her.

 

He said with a laugh he believes her now.

 

http://www.oaoa.com/news/mountain-74079-lion-kept.html

Tags: attackmaulmauled
Previous Post

Leopard kills girl and injures man in Nagbhid India

Next Post

How do you pill a BIG cat?

Related Posts

Bird Flu Detected in Two Oregon Mountain Lions
News World

Bird Flu Detected in Two Oregon Mountain Lions

March 31, 2023

In a news release on March 28 the California Department of Fish and...

Close encounter of a leopard kind: Rare BLACK leopard captured without help from camera trap
News World

Close encounter of a leopard kind: Rare BLACK leopard captured without help from camera trap

March 31, 2023

Stunning shots have emerged of a rare black panther in Laikipia, Kenya.It...

Turpentine Creek merging with Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue from ‘Tiger King’
News World

Turpentine Creek merging with Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue from ‘Tiger King’

March 30, 2023

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A personality from the hit Netflix docuseries...

Next Post
How do you pill a BIG cat?

How do you pill a BIG cat?

Leave a Reply

  • Facebook Comments
  • Default Comments (3)

3 responses to “Pet mountain lion mauls child”

  1. Billie Hausen says:
    July 25, 2013 at 3:19 pm

    I can't believe that it was legal to have a mountain lion as a pet, the animal is better of dead than to be in a small cage, the laws need to be changed as this was such an injustice. The animal was put down because of these people's stupidity. My heart goes out to this child that was attacked, he may never get over it and will have such a fear of cats in general.

    Reply
  2. 14 Terrifying Stories of Pets Who Turned on Their Owners - gagzer the best gags online says:
    June 15, 2016 at 6:00 pm

    […] of citations from the animal control department of Odessa, Texas, related to her 150-pound pet mountain lion. The animal wasn’t current on his vaccines, and the cage the lion lived in was too small for […]

    Reply
  3. C.J. Boesel says:
    April 22, 2023 at 3:19 pm

    No one should be allowed to “own” these animals!!! Especially in Texas. People there generally are not to bright. this stupid women never took care of the cat! No shots and living in a cage that was a joke. Since Texas seems not to police people who do anything against the law maybe they should pass a law against this sort of thing AND ENFORCE IT!!! i FEEL SO SORRY FOR THE CAT. It couldn’t help being bought by a moron.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Protect Wild Cats!

Give to Big Cat Rescue Check out conservation projects Big Cat Rescue funds! Florida panthers, fishing cats, Pallas cats, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, sandcats, mountain lions, oncilla, margay, geoffroy cats and more.

Sanctuary Cats

  • Jaguars
  • Leopards
  • Lions
  • Tigers
  • Bobcats
  • Canada Lynx
  • Cougars
  • Ocelots
  • Savannah Cats
  • Servals

Big Cat Rescue News

  • Big Cat Rescue is Live 24/7 on Webcams
  • Rescue Missions
  • About Big Cat Rescue
  • Big Cat Rescue News
  • Reviews
  • Our Recent Work
  • Sanctuary FAQs
  • Big Cat TV

Save Wild Cats!

Save exotic cats from extinction! Donate now to help us move our cats so we can protect wild cats from the threats of the pet trade and wildlife trafficking. Give to Big Cat Rescue

If you prefer to donate via Pay Pal, please use this link: Pay Pal

© Copyright 2023 BigCatRescue.Org. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • About BCR
  • Videos
  • Big Cat Facts
  • Cub Facts
  • Our Cat Stories
  • Sanctuary Cats
  • Shop and Save Cats
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Abuse Issues
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2023 BigCatRescue.Org. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Cleantalk Pixel

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.