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Fish & Game Chief Avoids Fine For Mountain Lion Hunt

SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) - California regulators have given a warning letter to the president of the state Fish and Game Commission over a mountain lion hunting trip he took earlier this year, but they decided against issuing a fine.

The Fair Political Practices Commission issued the warning Thursday to Dan Richards. It says he violated the state's $420 gift limit when he accepted an Idaho hunting trip in January worth $6,800.

Although Richards repaid the ranch, he did so after the required 30-day window for repayment. He could have faced a $5,000 fine.

Richards was criticized by animal rights groups and Democratic lawmakers after a photo of him holding a slain mountain lion appeared in a hunting publication. Mountain lion hunting is banned in California.

The FPPC says it has closed the case.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

 

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