Voters can vote “yes” in November to end the trophy hunting of cougars for their heads and the capture of bobcats to sell their beautiful fur as coats. A ballot bill entitled “Cats Are Not Trophies” is being introduced to that end.
Our coalition held a press conference at the Wild Animal Sanctuary on Friday, where we saw a mountain lion whose cute butterfly-shaped face hid in the grass before walking away – typical lion behavior around humans. We saw two bobcats and a lynx, all three wild cats that will be spared if the vote is yes.
Among the cats were also CAT supporters: an impressive demonstration of serious voices for real species protection.
However, the room was silent as raw footage was shown of packs of dogs chasing lions and bobcats into trees, where they were shot as trophies.
Watch the video “because this is NOT nature conservation”: youtu.be/P3SwmAtBU2E?si=M_qN1pNmzkKhHpc9.
Veterinarian Valerie Johnson, who holds a doctorate from Colorado State University, summed it up perfectly. “The mountain lion trophy hunters in Colorado are in the same vein as the people who pay a lot of money to go to Africa and cut off the tusks of elephants or the heads of lions,” she told the crowd.
Erik Molvar spoke as a hunter, although he is a widely published biologist in the field of species conservation.
“Hunters are like me, they are committed to the hunting ethic. … Hunting big cats is trophy hunting, plain and simple. It’s not about filling the freezer, but about bringing home a trophy, … showing it off and impressing your friends. That doesn’t respect the prey and therefore doesn’t deserve any special respect from the public.”
J Dallas Gudgell, an experienced environmental scientist and member of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck.
“As an Indigenous person who cares about a right relationship with nature and has grown up in that environment, I believe that trophy hunting and self-centered behavior disrupt the natural balance of nature,” said Gudgell, who works as director of wildlife and tribal policy at the International Wildlife Coexistence Network, one of the 100 groups that support CATs.
Veterinarian Christine Capaldo, a specialist in feline medicine, told of the bobcat in her southwest Colorado community that was caught in a fur trap and strangled just to sell its fur on the lucrative Chinese fur market.
“Allowing the killing of unlimited numbers of bobcats has nothing to do with wildlife biology or wildlife management, but rather with greed, trophies, the despicable fur trade with China, and a complete disregard for wildlife welfare. … Colorado’s native wild cats should never be for sale.”
Dr. Mickey Pardo, PhD, a Colorado wildlife biologist who has been featured in the New York Times and National Geographic, stated:
“As a biologist, I support the CATs ballot proposal to ban trophy hunting and trapping of feral cats in Colorado. The scientific evidence clearly shows that hunting these animals is completely unnecessary and the methods used to hunt them are extraordinarily cruel.”
Deanna Meyer, born and raised in Colorado, runs a rural family farm in lion country.
“One Christmas Day two years ago, I followed the sounds and found six dogs that had herded a frightened bobcat up a tree on my property. I was furious to find there was nothing I could do. If this initiative passes, it will end this nuisance and protect lions and bobcats that do not cause conflict with humans.”
Delia Malone is a West Slope field ecologist and wildlife officer for the Colorado Sierra Club, which supports CATs.
“At my house in Redstone, which borders a trackless area, we are fortunate to have a cougar family that has lived in the forest above us for generations – we have never had a negative encounter with the cougar family. … Killing lions as trophies contradicts science, is ethically wrong and should be banned.”
Every speaker at this event shows Colorado voters who we are: a broad coalition of wildlife experts, conservationists and citizens of diverse backgrounds who all agree that this type of marginal hunting for head and fur has no place in the great state of Colorado.
As Pat Craig so aptly put it, “Let’s be clear: cougars and bobcats are not a source of food, as many callous people like to claim. Instead, they are hunted solely for their heads and their beautiful fur.”
Julie Marshall is the communications director for Cats Aren’t Trophies, a campaign to end the cruel and inhumane trophy hunting of cougars and bobcats for their heads and beautiful coats. For more information, visit www.catsarenttrophies.org. To read the full text of the speeches, visit: https://youtu.be/5ur2g3VRKDk.
