In this July 20, 2017, file photograph, Carole Baskin, founding father of Big Cat Rescue, walks the property close to Tampa, Fla. The sanctuary was made well-known by the Netflix collection “Tiger King.” (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times by way of AP, File)
Big cat looking in Colorado shouldn’t be for meat
I write to make clear a topic that’s usually neglected in discussions about trophy looking and trapping of mountain lions and bobcats in Colorado — consumption of their meat. Proponents of those actions could argue that the meat is used, however the actuality is way from it. Mountain lion and bobcat meat shouldn’t be inspected by the USDA, posing a possible public well being danger. The meat might harbor zoonotic ailments, which may switch from animals to people, creating untold well being dangers.
Further, you gained’t discover mountain lion or bobcat meat on the menu in any restaurant that considers itself a part of a civilized society. The very notion evokes a way of disgust as a result of it’s basically at odds with our moral and social norms. The main motivations for looking these animals usually are not for meals however for sport and revenue, usually leaving households of those stunning creatures orphaned and vulnerable.
The absence of mountain lion and bobcat meat in our meals system isn’t a mere coincidence; it’s a mirrored image of each the potential risks and a societal consensus that acknowledges the grim implications of such consumption. Colorado’s poll initiative to ban trophy looking and trapping of untamed cats presents a chance to align our legal guidelines with each public well being pursuits and moral requirements. Let’s make the selection that advantages us all, together with the wildlife we share our state with.
For the cats,
Carole Baskin, Tampa
Editor’s word: Baskin is CEO of Big Cat Rescue.
Use license plate readers to implement registration
Re: “40,000 drivers caught on camera using express lanes to pass others,” Sept. 29 information story
OK, so we’ve obtained this whiz-bang system that may learn license plates on a automotive because it flashes previous at 70 mph within the toll lanes. It may even learn the state it got here from and may monitor the motive force down, ship him a invoice for his toll payment, and observe up if he doesn’t pay it. All utterly automated.
So, why can’t we use these plate readers to learn expired non permanent tags and ship these drivers a invoice for his or her registration charges? Maybe it’s as a result of there are such a lot of it will overload the system.
Richard Webb, Littleton
Another finish run on TABOR
I’ve by no means recognized a politician who couldn’t discover a strategy to spend each tax greenback collected.
This Will Rogers-type assertion clearly displays the perspective of Colorado legislators as they regularly attempt to whittle down the TABOR modification. What is unsuitable with giving a refund to taxpayers as an alternative of perpetually creating some new entity for unsustainable spending?
