CATs Lives On!
We are building on the fact 1.4 million Coloradans want to protect mountain lions and bobcats from cruel and commercialized killing.
Reasons to join this movement for the wild cats
Every Coloradan has a stake in how their wildlife is treated. CPW’s own policies over ‘fair chase’ are violated as lions are chased by dogs, held in a tree waiting for the shooter to arrive. Commercialized fur trapping of bobcats violates the North American Model of Wildlife Management in every way possible.
1.
A Rigged, Commercial Hunt
Wealthy trophy hunters hire commercial guides with packs of dogs trained to attack and tree a lion or bobcat and shoot the animal off a tree limb. It’s a “guaranteed kill” with the trophy hunter only paying the $8,000 fee after the kill.
2.
Lions Promote the Balance of Nature
Lion populations are self-regulating and help maintain the balance of nature, reducing dangerous car crashes with deer or elk and impacts on forests and forestry. They also target diseased deer and elk suffering from a brain-wasting disorder known as Chronic Wasting Disease, which biologists say is a threat to the future of hunting in Colorado.
3.
Trophy Hunting In Its Purest Form
It’s plainly wrong to allow cruel killing of mountain lions and bobcats for their heads and their beautiful coats. This measure just halts trophy hunting of native cats but not taking cats posing a risk for people, livestock, or pets.
4.
Trophy Hunting Creates More Human-Wildlife Conflicts
Peer-reviewed science shows that trophy hunting increases the risk of human-lion conflicts, by creating social chaos among surviving lions and increasing the percentage of juveniles in the population. California banned lion hunting a half century ago, and in a state with six times as many people and just as many cougars, there are fewer than 10 lions killed a year for involvement in conflicts.
5.
Orphaning of Kittens
Nearly half of the lions shot by trophy hunters in Colorado females. When mothers are killed, the kittens are doomed to starvation, dehydration, or exposure. Treeing animals with hounds appears to do not a thing to discourage shooting of females.
Cruelty is NOT Conservation
“This is not a hunt. All the high-tech gadgetry, the GPS collars with dogs doing all the work while the ‘hunter’ sits in his truck drinking coffee until the cat is treed … you might as well call the dogs off and go home because this is not a hunt.” — Harley G. Shaw
News
Contribute to our campaign
to help us put an end to the unsporting and inhumane activity of trophy hunting.
