It's official – Coloradans will vote on whether or not to ban mountain lion hunting this fall

It's official – Coloradans will be voting on whether or not to ban the hunting of big cats in the Centennial State on the November 5 General Election Ballot.

According to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a random sample of five percent of signatures submitted with Proposed Initiative 91 'Prohibit Trophy Hunting' revealed that the effort has enough support to qualify for placement on the ballot. A total of 187,147 signatures were submitted.

The initiative specifically addresses the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx, defining 'trophy hunting' as "killing, wounding, pursuing, or entrapping" the listed species, as well as "discharging or releasing any deadly weapon" at one of the animals, as well. Exceptions are made when protecting human life, livestock, real or personal property, and motor vehicles is involved.

It's worth noting that Colorado Parks and Wildlife already considers 'trophy hunting' to be a form of poaching, thus it's illegal in Colorado. Hunting that exists is highly regulated and serves the purpose of managing populations, according to wildlife officials.

In Colorado, hunters kill around 500 mountain lions per year, with hunting of this big cat considered to be very difficult. Many permits to hunt end up going unused, with hunting of mountain lions closely monitored and heavily regulated . During the 2022-2023 mountain lion hunting season, 2,599 hunters killed 502 cats – a 19 percent success rate .

When it comes to bobcats, kill numbers tend to vary a bit more by year. During the 2022 to 2023 season 738 were killed, in the 2021 to 2022 season 866 were killed, in the 2020 to 2021 season 1,036 were killed, and in the 2019 to 2020 season 1,160 were killed. Kill numbers over the last four seasons were significantly lower than that of years prior, with 1,936 killed in the 2018 to 2019 season and 1,977 killed the season before that. See a full breakdown here .

The goal of bringing an end to mountain lion hunting is at odds with Colorado Parks and Wildlife goals , with CPW noting that hunting plays an important role in population management. Per CPW, "allowing lions to coexist with humans without thoughtful management has not proven successful in real-world scenarios."

CPW also states that the department "believes in sustaining robust wildlife populations while facilitating responsible hunting practices."

What are your thoughts on this ballot item? Let us know in the comments.

The full text of the ballot initiative can be found here .

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