Why advocates hope voters approve a mountain lion hunting ban in November

KEENESBURG, Colo. — Come November, Colorado voters will decide whether to ban the trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and other wild cats across the state after an initiative gathered enough signatures to make it onto the ballot.

According to the Secretary of State's office, proponents and designated representatives submitted 187,147 petition signatures . After reviewing a five-percent random sample of the submitted signatures, the Elections Division projected the number of valid signatures to be more than the 124,238 required to make it to the ballot.

The group Cats Aren’t Trophies (CAT) helped start the campaign to raise awareness about the issue against "trophy hunting." Exceptions to Proposition 91 include killing an animal to protect people and livestock, the accidental wounding of a cat, actions by authorized wildlife officers and scientific research activities.

Samantha Miller, the campaign manager for CAT, said the initiative will protect the lives of these animals.

"This is not an anti-hunting issue. This is an every Coloradan issue. You know animal cruelty when you see it, and this is an opportunity to fix that," she said.

The group, along with several other animal advocates, held a press conference Friday at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keensburg, which was founded by Pat Craig.

Craig said he began saving captive wildlife after learning that thousands of “surplus” lions, tigers, bears and other animals were being kept in tiny cages in the back of zoos all across the country.

"All these years, I've been doing it 44 years now, and so it's still just the same as it was the very first year," said Craig. "My love for the animals is still there."

Denver7 reached out to several opponents of the proposal for a statement but did not hear back. Last month, a group against the measure told our partners at The Denver Post they were "disappointed to learn that the required signature level was reached."

In an email, Suzanne O’Neill, executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation, told The Denver Post, “This is another instance of ballot-box biology presented to the voters. It aims to take away Colorado Parks and Wildlife expertise and (the agency’s) extensive experience in applying science-based wildlife management as to mountain lions and bobcats.”

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, a total of 502 mountain lions were killed during the 2022-2023 hunting season, which runs from November to March. In a statement from CPW, officials said Colorado state agencies, like Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources, are "prohibited by Colorado law from having positions/opinions or using state resources in support of or against ballot initiatives."

Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it is neutral, meaning it takes no position for or against Proposition 91, and said it will "diligently implement all laws duly passed by the legislature, the Governor, or Colorado voters."

On Saturday, United Houndsmen of Colorado, a group opposed to the measure, shared the following statement with Denver7:

"Mountain lions and bobcats have been successfully managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife through hunting to create healthy, thriving populations of both species in the state. Neither one is threatened or endangered whatsoever and, as a renewable resource, can sustain a small yearly off-take of the population to maintain the health of not only the lion and bobcats, but also all the other wildlife on the landscape. The hunting of both species are highly regulated to prevent negative impacts and both are also highly difficult to hunt. The average success rate of mountain lion hunting in Colorado is a mere 19% and when successful, the meat is consumed like all other big game, and the skin and skull are required to be presented to CPW for testing and scientific cataloguing to further refine management plans for the health of the state population."

At Denver7, we're committed to making a difference in our community. We're standing up for what's right by listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the featured videos in the playlist above.