Mountain Lion Protections Approved in Colorado As Fight for Statewide Hunting Ban Continues
Wildlife leaders have suspended the April 2024 hunting season and implemented a ban on the use of electronic devices and artificial calls to attract and hunt these big cats.
Hunters in Colorado will no longer be able to use electronic devices and artificial calls to lure mountain lions to their deaths following a unanimous decision by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPW) on Thursday.
The state wildlife leaders also voted to stop April’s 2024 hunting season. Normally, the mountain lion hunting season in Colorado spans from November through March, with a secondary season in April.
The move comes after alarming data revealed that a total of 198 Colorado mountain lions were slaughtered by trophy hunters during the first month of hunting season, between November 27 and December 31.
The open records request to CPW by animal advocacy organization Animal Wellness Action showed that of the mountain lions killed, 87 were females; 111 were male. According to wildlife experts, this means that females killed have reached 43.9 percent, far outpacing the yearly statewide average, which according to CPW data, is 41 percent.
Josh Rosenau, the Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Mountain Lion Foundation, expressed concerns over the sustainability of the mountain lion population due to the significant rate of trophy hunters targeting females. Rosenau says this poses a threat to the overall health of the population.
According to CPW, research shows that female mountain lions will be pregnant or have dependent young with them during 75 percent of their lives. A young, orphaned kitten stands a dismal 4 percent chance of survival and statistically starves to death.
Julie Marshall, the Director of Public Relations for the Mountain Lion Foundation, also stressed the potential consequences of the high female kill numbers, noting: “Cougar moms care for their cubs for up to two years, so it’s likely that many of the cougars killed already this winter left cubs behind, to fend for themselves or starve. The body count is disturbing, given that all of these felines were randomly targeted for no good reason. and were just trying to survive with less prey available from a harsh winter.
“Colorado is sanctioning cruelty by allowing trophy hunts to continue, and not even requiring shooters to check to see if a cat is lactating before ending her life, as well as the lives of tiny kittens waiting for her to return to the den,” she added.
Hunters slaughter an estimated 500 mountain lions every year, with the state’s limit, set by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, changing annually. During the 2023-24 season, hunters are legally allowed to kill up to 674 of the animals. As of Thursday, 305 have been killed, reports The Durango Herald.
Protecting Colorado’s Wildlife
The commissioners’ meeting comes as a coalition of wildlife supporters advocate for a proposed ballot initiative that would implement a statewide ban on hunting mountain lions, bobcats, and Canada lynx.
The Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs) political committee, composed of hunters, anglers, veterinarians, sanctuary advocates, wildlife scientists, photographers, and others, has filed 2024 ballot language to give voters the opportunity to halt the slaughter of these wild animals.
According to CATs, in Colorado, mountain lion trophy hunters use packs of up to eight dogs fitted with GPS collars to track and chase the animals into a tree where hunters then shoot the animals off the limbs. Trophy hunting guides offer these “guaranteed” kills for a bucket list trophy tom, collecting fees of up to $8,000 for a highly commercialized exercise for their clients.
Bobcats are hunted, as well as trapped, primarily for fur, with their pelts exported to Russia and China.
“More than 30 years ago Coloradans voted to ban hunting black bears with dogs by a 70 percent majority. If sending packs of dogs to chase bears through our forests is bad for bears, including mothers with dependent young, it’s bad for mountain lions and bobcats, too,” said Marshall. “Shooting a cat that is stuck in a tree with nowhere to go is no different than shooting a lion in a cage at the zoo.”
Take Action
Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs) is urgently collecting signatures for the ballot measure banning trophy hunting of mountain lions and fur trapping of bobcats in Colorado.
With 124,238 in-person verified signatures required to get it on the ballot, wildlife need all the support we can give them. Coloradans, please consider volunteering to help gather signatures by visiting CatsArentTrophies.org.
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