Wildlife official shoots lion

Dan Richards, of Upland, president of the California Fish and Game Commission, shows off a mountain lion he shot during a recent hunting trip to Idaho. (Western Outdoor News)

The president of a Californian wildlife commission has sparked outrage after an photograph appeared of him online holding the carcass of a dead mountain lion which was illegal to shoot in his own state.

Mountain lions are protected in California and have been off-limits to hunters for 20 years. However, it is legal to hunt them in Idaho, where Daniel W Richards shot the animal.

Democratic lawmakers in the state are attempting to remove Mr Richards from the board of the California Fish and Game Commission, which according to its website oversees the "management and wise use" of the state's wildlife. Over 40 lawmakers and conservationists have called for him to resign, saying his actions do not represent Californians' belief that mountain lions should not be hunted

Mr Richards defended his decision, saying that he did not shoot the animal for pleasure and that he had eaten the lion.