Colorado voters to decide on big cat hunting ban

DENVER (KDVR) — Coloradans will get to decide if hunters should be able to kill big cats , and both sides of the issue have weighed in.

“We collected 188,000 signatures from registered Colorado voters, and we submitted those to the Colorado Secretary of State,” said Sam Miller, campaign manager for Cats Aren’t Trophies. “This was largely a grassroots effort. We had 900 volunteers statewide out collecting those signatures.”

If voters approve the measure, the trophy hunting of big cats like mountain lions, bobcats or lynx would be banned in Colorado. Trophy hunting is defined as killing a wild animal for display.

Supporters of the initiative want to be clear: The initiative does not prohibit killing big cats if they threaten human life, property or livestock.

FOX31 asked Miller why the decision was made to bring this measure to voters now, given the debate surrounding wildlife initiatives on the ballot in recent years.

“I think this a different question for the Colorado voter,” Miller said. “I think gray wolves were a question of reintroduction, of bringing a species in that Coloradans don’t really know.”

She said the group is asking voters to decide whether it is acceptable to hunt animals for trophies.

“What we are saying is that you can’t just kill them for trophies (and) that recreational hunting really doesn’t have a place in Colorado,” Miller said.

What are hunters saying about Colorado’s big cat initiative?

Patt Dorsey is the director of conservation operations for the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Western division.

“We have really healthy wildlife populations because of all the hard work and all of the expertise and all of the stuff that has gone into wildlife management in the past,” she said. “And any change can potentially change the outcome for wildlife and conservation.”

Away from work, Dorsey admits she does hunt big cats. FOX31 asked if she considers herself a trophy hunter.

“I would not consider myself a trophy hunter,” Dorsey said. “I hunt for the enjoyment of being outdoors. I hunt to be with family and friends. I hunt for meat. In fact, most of what’s in my freezer is wild game that I’ve harvested. I throw nothing away.”

By law, hunters are required to prepare mountain lions for human consumption after killing them.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife numbers show about 500 mountain lions were harvested, or killed, in the state in 2023, with 502 mountain lions harvested in 2022.

CPW said they are staying neutral on the ballot initiative.

“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,” CPW said in a statement. “Colorado Parks and Wildlife is neutral, which means we take no position for or against Proposition 91 and will diligently implement all laws duly passed by the legislature, the Governor, or Colorado voters.”

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