Orphaned bobcats at Boulder County’s Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The 4 kittens have been just lately transferred to a different facility specializing in carnivores. (Courtesy Greenwood Wildlife)
This week, a various statewide coalition — Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs) — initiated a Colorado poll measure to finish trophy searching mountain lions, together with fur trapping bobcats. As members of CATs, we goal to introduce the marketing campaign and clarify why all Coloradans ought to assist us to qualify this measure for the autumn 2024 poll.
Come November, mountain lion trophy searching shall be afoot in Colorado. Like every year earlier than, trophy hunts will declare as many as 500 lions, with a lot of the animals shot from bushes after being relentlessly chased by packs of dogs fitted with refined radio telemetry tools.
Thirty years in the past, Colorado banned searching black bears with packs of dogs as a result of it’s unfair and inhumane. Lion searching almost solely occurs with using packs of dogs who assault and chase the lion. Colorado voters don’t need this sort of searching taking place geared toward lions or bobcats.
This is all about trophy searching, not killing for meat or for administration. Trophy hunters pay outfitters as a lot as $8,000 for a 100% assured kill and are led to the tree after the information and his dogs have treed the lion. The hunter then shoots the lion off of a tree department – the ethical and sporting equal of capturing a lion in a cage at a zoo.
December brings one other devastating season for Colorado’s wild cats, as trappers begin their pursuit of bobcats, trapping them alive, capturing and skinning them for his or her fur. They set an astonishing variety of traps all through Colorado’s wild lands — 4,000 traps in a single yr alone — and kill about 2,000 each year, in response to CPW. Trappers might seize and kill as many bobcats as they will to revenue from promoting their fur on international markets, together with Russia and China.
Change is required once we step into such unfair, extremely commercialized killing of inedible animals.
CATs is a various group, encompassing moral, fair-chase hunters, conservationists, wildlife biologists, scientists, veterinarians, pet shelters, sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitators, business leaders, eco-tourism operators, ranchers, and farmers from throughout the state. While our members might maintain differing views on politics, we share a robust consensus that trophy searching and trapping of Colorado’s wild cats are indefensible acts for a number of key causes.
Unfair strategies: The strategies used are grossly unfair and forged a unfavorable gentle on all types of searching.
Orphaned kittens: Trophy hunters at all times search the biggest grownup males, however alarmingly, 41% of mountain lions killed by trophy hunts every year are females, who shall be pregnant, have kittens or dependent juveniles the massive majority (83%) of their lives. This leads to orphaned kittens going through a dismal 4% probability of survival, in response to CPW.
Unwarranted physique counts: Trophy searching and fur trapping yearly declare the lives of two,500 animals who aren’t in battle with people or home animals. Our measure exactly ends killing for trophies and fur however wouldn’t change present practices to handle any wild cat threatening our valued livestock producers and for public security.
Fake administration: Colorado has distinct applications in place to stop battle and to surgically deal with particular person animals recognized as a nuisance or as a risk. A great way to think about it’s in case you have an remoted tumor, you wouldn’t ask a surgeon to take away your uterus, kidneys, and your proper hand. That can be malpractice, but that’s the system of mountain lion exploitation occurring in our state. Science has lengthy instructed us wild cat populations rely upon available prey and area to stay — sport-killing has by no means confirmed to be a administration software.
No financial profit: Recreational mountain lion licenses alone contribute a mere 0.1% to the state’s wildlife operations price range. A tiny share of individuals wish to kill animals which can be unthinkable to eat, just like a a home tabby — and genetically the identical as wild cats.
No public profit: There isn’t any peer-reviewed scientific proof supporting the concept that trophy searching and trapping present any profit for public security, home animal safety, or statewide deer inhabitants progress for fair-chase hunters. In truth, a physique of analysis, together with a examine revealed this yr in Biological Conservation, present that trophy hunts improve the chance of human-lion conflicts.
Public disapproval: According to a 2023 examine by Colorado State University, 80% of Coloradans disapprove of trophy searching mountain lions, with a good greater disapproval charge (88%) for utilizing hounds to chase them into bushes for a assured kill. Earlier research fall in line.
There are many the explanation why we should always as an alternative spend money on the worth of residing wild cats. Mountain lions preserve deer herds wholesome in response to CPW researchers, within the midst of rampant continual losing illness, which is a large risk to elk and deer searching; these cats carry local weather options and cut back lethal car accidents. Bobcats assist cut back rodent populations.
Opponents are going to be those that resist any criticism of any facet of searching, anyplace and anytime. Such an method is detrimental to public assist, significantly in a state as impartial and free-thinking as Colorado the place we don’t assist exploiting and commercializing our wildlife.
We invite you to affix CATs in making certain that wild cats are handled humanely and respectfully in our state, quite than needlessly destroyed by just a few individuals, for no acceptable cause. Help us protect our state’s excellent repute as a spot for recreation and elevating households, in an atmosphere that respects all residing beings, together with our native wildlife.
CATs’ volunteers will begin accumulating signatures this fall.
— Pat Craig is the founding father of The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Weld, Las Animas, and Baca Counties. Christine Capaldo, DVM, practices veterinary drugs in Southwestern Colorado. Dave Ruane is an avid naturalist, hunter and outdoorsman. He lives in Weld County.
