A collective gulp was almost detectable this week when California Fish and Game Commission President Daniel Richards defiantly declared to outraged legislators that he not only gunned down a mountain lion and held the carcass like a trophy, but he then ate big cat for dinner.

The revelation that Richards complied with the backcountry rule that you eat what you shoot didn't do much to quiet calls in the Capitol for his head, but the perfectly legal shooting and consumption of puma meat certainly raised questions about his diet.

As odd and unappetizing as the dish may sound, it isn't unusual for hunters to consume cougar meat, according to hunting groups.

"Eating them is common. We serve it to our guests," said Joseph Peterson, the manager of the Flying B Ranch in Idaho, which charges $6,800 for an all-inclusive, seven-day hunting expedition. It was at Flying B. where Richards killed the cougar and posed for the notorious photograph of him grinning and hugging the lion carcass.

"We save most of the lions we shoot," said Peterson, adding that catamount cutlets are milder and tastier than bear and horse meat, which he has also tried.

Richards, appointed to the commission in 2008 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, expounded on the subject Thursday, declaring filet of puma a culinary delight.

"It doesn't taste like chicken," he told conservative talk radio hosts John and Ken in Los Angeles. "The closest thing is pork loin. It's a white meat. It's really good, and actually in frontier times it was a delicacy because it's tough to bag one of them."

The photo of Richards first appeared in a Western Outdoor News blog after his January excursion - along with his quote, "I'm glad it's legal in Idaho" - and circulated on the Internet, provoking anger among conservation groups that questioned whether he's fit to serve on the California Fish and Game Commission. Richards apparently stayed in relative luxury at the 14,000-acre ranch, employing two guides for seven days.

Contradictory accounts

Peterson said the expeditions use hounds to tree the lions so that clients can shoot them. He said, however, that the 115-pound male cat that Richardson shot, and two other mountain lions bagged the day before during his hunting trip, were found roaming the property and would have been killed because they were a threat. He said Richards volunteered to kill the cougar as a favor.

Richards' account contradicted Peterson's story. He told Western Outdoor News that he shot the lion to fulfill a long-held goal, using a Winchester Centennial lever-action .45 carbine after eight hours of "the most physically exhausting hunt of my lifetime."

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom joined some 40 legislators, the Sierra Club and the Humane Society of the United States this week to call for Richards' resignation.

"I know many, many ethical hunters are just as appalled about the idea of treeing a predator," said Jennifer Fearing, California state director for the Humane Society of the United States. "It is a trophy animal, and they used packs of dogs. He followed behind and shot it out of a tree," she said.

Not backing down

For his part, Richards was as far from apologetic as possible, firing off a letter pointing out that it is legal to hunt mountain lion in Idaho and that there was "ZERO" chance of him resigning.

Richards stepped up his counterattack Thursday, accusing Newsom of lobbying for his removal because the lieutenant governor wants his father appointed to the commission. He said the Humane Society and other environmental groups are trying to ban hunting.

"We have a very aggressive, very well organized, very well funded (campaign by) what I call environmental terrorists," he told the radio hosts. "They are constantly trying to shut down ... fishing and hunting and anything associated with it."

The situation has, in a very short time, become explosive.

"It's shameful that Mr. Richards has compounded his problems by lying," about Newsom wanting to appoint his father, said Chris Garland, Newsom's chief of staff. "If he were smart he'd stop shooting himself in the foot, do the right thing and resign."

Besides Richards' reputation for being trigger-happy, conservationists have criticized him for, among other things, opposing marine wildlife protection rules and efforts to increase use of nontoxic ammunition. Assembly Democrats are now considering firing Richards, who recently took over the presidency of the commission, which sets policies and regulations that are implemented by the Department of Fish and Game. The agency manages wildlife, including depredation and hunting permits.

It has been illegal to hunt and kill mountain lions in California since 1971, but hunting the cats is permitted in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. In Texas, where they are considered vermin, people don't need a hunting license to kill them.

Trophy hunting

Peterson said his ranch conducts five to 10 mountain lion hunts a year, usually during winter when other hunting seasons are closed. He admitted that most hunters are not out for the meat.

"It is primarily trophy hunting, but the hunts are in compliance with a state fish and game management program designed to control the population," he said.

Hunting groups insist that it is better for wildlife in general when some mountain lions and other predators are regularly culled. That way, the argument goes, deer, elk and other prey species do not get depleted. Besides, they say, fees for hunting licenses and tags, instead of taxes, pay for wildlife preservation and management.

Chris Wilmers, assistant professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz, said that would be a great theory - if it were true.

"There is no scientific evidence for that," said Wilmers, who heads a puma tracking study in the Santa Cruz mountains. "In California, where lions are not managed, we have a very healthy mountain lion population. There are just about as many as I think the landscape can support, and they are not killing all the deer. The studies that have been done indicate that deer are more limited by their food resources than by predators."

This article has been corrected since it appeared in print editions.