Dear Editor,
Please vote “yes” on Proposition 127, the Prohibit Hunting of Mountain Lion, Bobcat, and Lynx Initiative, in November. The common method of using dogs with GPS trackers to chase the lion till s/he is exhausted and often climbs into a tree, where it is shot by a hunter from only yards away, is not sporting and is inhumane. The slaughter is not for meat but for the lion’s head and skin.
If hunting big cats in Colorado is prohibited, their populations will stay about the same. California banned mountain lion trophy hunting in 1972 and its mountain lion density is about the same as Colorado’s and that of other western states. California’s average deer density is about the same as other western states, and so is its rate of cattle depredation.
Prohibiting big cat trophy hunting will have a negligible effect on the budget of the Colorado Parks & Wildlife department. In 2023, hunting licenses for mountain lions and bobcats brought in $425,000 revenue to CPW, which is less than one-half of one percent of CPW’s annual revenue.
Hunting big cats is cruel and should be prohibited. Vote “yes” on Proposition 127.
Melinda Marquis, Ph.D.
Nederland
