Many Coloradoans may be surprised to learn that there’s an active death cult operating in the state. Each year, Colorado sells state permits to murder cougars (also known as mountain lions and pumas) and bobcats – animals definitely not hunted for food. Members committed to this cult, sometimes referred to as “trophy hunters,” are allowed to use dog packs, often outfitted with telemetry equipment, to chase, stress and terrorize these cats who may suffer for minutes or maybe for hours.
In this inhumane and unsportsmanlike hunt, the mountain lion may ultimately seek refuge in a tree where, defenseless, the lion is shot dead and drops to the ground. “That is the moral and sporting equivalent of shooting an animal in a cage at a zoo,” said Wayne Pacelle, founder of Animal Wellness Action. “It defies any commonsense notion of fair chase and sportsmanship, and it is more an execution than it is a hunt. It’s cruelty to animals, which just happens to have the sanction of the state.”
Last month, Colorado banned hunters from using electronic devices to lure mountain lions to them with artificial calls.
In 2022, The Denver Post reported that from 2019 to 2021, an average of 516 mountain lions were killed each year, and about 1,300 bobcats were killed in 2018 and 2019. Lynx, extirpated in Colorado by hunting, trapping and other exploitation, were reintroduced in the state in 1999, with 41 animals brought from Alaska and Canada. While lynx are protected under the Endangered Species Act, inhumane traps do not distinguish between animals that are protected by law and those who aren’t.
“Lynx, a close relative to bobcats, are naturally attracted to bait set for bobcats and are harmed, injured or killed when caught in traps,” wrote Christine Capaldo, a veterinarian in Southwestern Colorado. “Trapping bobcats causes unnecessary pain and suffering to the target animal and also to nontarget animals that include lynx.”
Cats Aren’t Trophies has launched a petition drive in Colorado to collect signatures for a November ballot measure that would ban trophy hunting of mountain lions and trapping of bobcats for their fur. To make the ballot, 125,000 registered voters need to sign the petition by July 5.
The Mountain Lion Foundation estimates that the mountain lion population nationwide is less than 30,000, with an estimated 3,800 to 4,400 in Colorado, of which, as noted above, some 500 are killed each year in the state. More than 400 mountain lions have been murdered this hunting season in Colorado, with trophy hunters killing more animals than allowed in eight counties where there is little law enforcement, said Sam Miller, campaign manager for Cats Aren’t Trophies. Among them are females, needed by their kittens, who may stay with their moms for up to 26 months. There were 2,500 licenses sold to kill cougars in Colorado. There is no limit on bobcat killings.
“This ballot measure is the only way to bring an end to this,” said Pat Craig, founder of the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colo. “We can change this course.”
Mountain lions are vital animals to healthy ecosystems. These eco engineers keep deer and elk populations in check, limiting their negative impacts on forests and reducing chronic wasting disease in these two animal populations. The mountain lion is an amazing apex species that lives among us without any consequential impact – it’s rare that a mountain lion kills a human.
Bobcats face additional risks, as they are trapped for commercial exploitation, explained Pacelle. Even if a trapper checks the trap every 24 hours, the frightened animal struggles to free itself. Once the trapper returns to the trap, he either bludgeons or stomps the bobcat to death. There is no market in the U.S. for bobcat pelts, which are sold to foreign countries, mainly China.
Organized opposition to ending the murder of cats comes from the Sportsmen’s Alliance, which vows to “fight this blatant and egregious proposal every step of the way.” The Ohio-based group, which says that it “protects and defends wildlife conservation programs … and hunting, fishing and trapping,” claims the ballot measure is being pushed by “radicals” with “misguided extremism.” Perhaps the sportsmen could put their hunting talents to better uses, including killing feral swine, Burmese pythons and other invasive species.
The hogs, introduced to North America in the 1500s, have spread to the majority of states in the country and have been identified as the reason for a rapid decline in 300 plant and animal species native to the U.S. They also are carriers of numerous parasites and bacteria that can infect people and other animals. Burmese pythons came to Florida as exotic pets, whose owners often released them. Reproducing quickly and with no natural predators here, they ate 90 percent of small- and mid-size Everglades mammals.
With no shortage of creatures that do need to be eliminated, let’s leave Colorado bobcats, lynx and pumas at peace. Get this initiative on the November ballot and vote to end cruelty to bobcats, cougars and lynx.
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For information about getting this citizen initiative on the Colorado ballot in November, including how to help by collecting signatures, visit Cats Aren’t Trophies. Sign the petition when visiting The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg.
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Maria Fotopoulos writes about the connection between overpopulation and biodiversity loss, and from time-to-time other topics that confound her. On FB @BetheChangeforAnimals and givesendgo.com/calliescathouse.
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Wonderfully written commentary about an important topic