MAMAKATING – According to a recent report from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the owner of an antique store in the Town of Mamakating has been charged with attempting to sell a mounted mountain lion head. 

The DEC stated that on July 29 an undercover Environmental Conservation Police Officer went to the antique store after receiving a tip from a frequent shopper about a mounted mountain lion head being offered for sale there.

The undercover officer located the mounted head in the back of the store and made a deal to purchase it just as a uniformed officer also went to the store.

The DEC stated in its report that the store owner and an employee said they didn’t know it was illegal to sell the mountain lion head.

The DEC officers charged the owner with the illegal commercialization of a prohibited species, returnable to the Town of Mamakating Court, and confiscated the mounted head as evidence.