Much Ado About Cat Hunting!

In 2022, anti-hunting groups got four Colorado lawmakers to propose Senate Bill 31, which would ban the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats in that state. Opposition was led by the NRA, and hunters reacted in large numbers. That bill died in committee after three of the lawmakers withdrew their support.

Several Colorado surveys showed support for a ban on hunting lions and trapping bobcats, and so a coalition called Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs) is now attempting a different approach. Ballot referendums are not new, and in the past have proven to be an extremely successful anti-hunting strategy.

The process is relatively simple, but it requires some work. Citizens can get an issue on the state’s voting ballot by securing a specified number of signatures on a petition before a predetermined deadline. Once enough signatures are obtained, the issue is then placed on a statewide ballot during election periods.

Those seeking this referendum (Initiative 91) need to get 124,000 signatures to have it on the 2024 voter ballot. As I write this (October 2023), that process hasn’t begun, but getting those signatures will be easy and has probably already happened by the time this issue is on newsstands.

The title of the filed ballot proposal in CO is “Prohibit Trophy Hunting,” and it will prohibit hunting, trapping, and using dogs or electronic devices to hunt lions, bobcats, or lynx. CATs believes that “...any trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, or lynx is inhumane, serves no socially acceptable or ecologically beneficial purpose, and fails to further public safety.” The coalition opposes guides taking lion hunters and using dogs to tree the cats, which are then shot. They also oppose the December bobcat season, where trappers capture and kill approximately 2,000 bobcats and sell the fur on foreign markets.

One objective of this proposed referendum is to convince the public that this is about killing mountain lions rather than about managing a troublesome lion population. As noted, hunters can presently use hounds to pursue lions, and most are taken in that manner. Again, hound-hunting big game such as bears or lions is not generally understood or accepted by an ever-growing urban public.

Take California, for example. California has mountain lions near urban centers, as well as in the large expanses of mountain ranges where human populations are not as dense.

In 1990, a ballot referendum to ban lion hunting passed. However, this did not end the lion battle in California.

When two women were killed there in 1994 by lions, that triggered the state’s legislature to pass a bill in 1995 to put mountain-lion hunting up for a revote. The California Senate passed the bill by a 26–8 vote, and the House passed it by a vote of 44–30. Thus, a new referendum to allow lion hunting was placed in front of voters in March 1995. That referendum was defeated by the public by a whopping 58% in favor of it, and 42% against it.

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One reason the vote against lion hunting transpired was that the Humane Society of the United States focused a large media blitz in large metropolitan areas such as Sacramento and San Francisco. My guess is that once this Colorado referendum gets on the ballot, outside anti groups as well as CATs will blitz big cities such as Denver, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins with a campaign that has nothing to do with wildlife management or human safety.

Part of the problem in any state where mountain lions exist, is that it is very difficult for DNR biologists to present an accurate estimate of the state’s cat population.

Colorado wildlife researchers are working on that right now, with a new 10-year study in two counties. Until now, cat numbers in CO have been estimated at between 3,000 and 7,000 animals. Antis love to tell the public that holding a hunt to manage mountain lions makes little sense, when the state doesn’t have an exact estimate of the number of lions out there.

Public safety is another reason states use when trying to justify a hunt for lions. If a lion targets livestock or becomes a risk to humans/pets, state-statute guidelines allow wildlife officials to kill that animal. That will continue — if this referendum passes.

The Colorado wildlife agency has a management plan for the Western Slope area that has a goal of keeping the lion population in check. Over 2,400 hunters got tags to hunt lions during the 2021–2022 season, and 486 were taken. Over the past three years, the average harvest was 500. But whether hunting keeps lion numbers in check isn’t really the issue for CATs. Using dogs to tree mountain lions and shooting them as trophies is the issue the public will hear about.

What About The Safety Factor?

Since 1990, there have been 25 lion attacks on humans in Colorado — three of those were fatalities. In March 2023, a couple was sitting in an in-ground hot tub, when the man was bitten on the head from behind. The startled cat left but continued to watch the couple as they went into the house. The man’s wounds were superficial.

In May 2023, an 11-year-old girl was swatted in the face by a young female lion as she entered a chicken coop near Buena Vista. When wildlife officers arrived, the 30-pound lion was still in the coop and was dispatched. The girl was treated for a facial-puncture wound, and officials believe that the lion was just attempting to get an easy meal when the girl surprised it by entering the coop. They did not believe the lion actually attacked the girl.

For years, the Colorado wildlife agency has used heavily regulated hunts under a conservative quota system to successfully manage their lions. If that is taken away by voters, will that mean more lion attacks on humans/pets, especially near the suburbs? Will that mean loss of revenue from lost license sales?

If the antis can convince voters that a ban on hunting won’t lead to more attacks, then this referendum may pass.

There is no human-safety issue with bobcats. California banned trapping of bobcats in 2015, and the hunting and sale of bobcat fur in 2019. That is a sign that the urban public will also vote against bobcat trapping in Colorado.

The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action will use all their resources to convince voters to let trained professionals manage wildlife using science and legal hunting. I’ll update you on the results of that vote and subsequent lion problems.