Mountain lion kittens in Arizona are dying under a hunting program built for adult cats, not the young, dependent kittens actually being killed.

A new lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity says state data show more than half of the lions Arizona hunters kill each year are kittens or juveniles, animals too young to survive on their own once their mother is gone.

The lawsuit, filed against Arizona's Game and Fish Department and its governing Commission, asks a judge to stop new hunting permits until officials can prove the mountain lion population is actually healthy and stable. Robin Silver, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the agency will not act on its own numbers. "The Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Arizona Game and Fish Commission won't respect their own data. We don't have a choice. We need to have a judge help educate them," according to Silver.

Arizona's mountain lion hunting season opens later this month, before a judge is expected to rule. Every week that passes without action means more kittens could be killed while the case is still pending. Game and Fish officials have declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission and the department's director have the power to pause permits right now, without waiting for a courtroom order. Arizona's mountain lion population cannot recover if kittens keep dying before they reach adulthood.

Sign the petition to demand Arizona Game and Fish halt mountain lion hunting permits before more kittens are killed this season.