Cats Aren’t Trophies: Vote “Yes” to Protect Wild Cats of Colorado

Colorado can keep the pride going.

By this, I mean two things. First, Denver Pride this year was more popular than ever.

Second, Pride events happened to be the best, most successful, warm, and welcoming place in the state for circulators who succeeded at gathering a total of 188,000 voter signatures statewide, to certify an anti-trophy hunting measure on the ballot this November.

As a worn-out circulator myself, I am proud to report that readers of OFM will now have their voice heard by voting “Yes” to protect mountain lions from cruel and inhumane trophy hunting that is done to collect their heads. A “Yes” vote on Cats Aren’t Trophies will equally protect bobcats from fur trappers who want to bait them, trap them, and skin them just to sell their beautiful fur in foreign markets.

The measure is called Cats Aren’t Trophies, because cats really do deserve so much better than to be chased by packs of dogs in the forest—their homes—up into trees, where they have nowhere to go, just to be shot by some nimrod who wants a photo hugging their bloody corpse who then claims he is a real macho man because he has a lion trophy.

Bobcats are also chased into trees and shot, as well as held in cages, for 24 hours in the brutal winter and heat of summer, just so the trapper can walk up, strangle, or bludgeon the animal to death, and pocket cash.

These actions do not instill pride in Colorado.

My guess is that readers of OFM are smart and don’t suffer fools. The trophy hunters and fur trappers are flooding the media right now with a litany of excuses for what they know is egregious animal cruelty.

Their main excuse? “We eat cats.” Gross. Disgusting. No one eats cats. But they think this is a winning argument. Go figure.

Second up is that trophy hunters say the voters of Colorado are way too dimwitted to have any voice in wildlife policy. They call it “ballot box biology,” as if ethical standards are determined by charts and graphs. Trophy hunters are practicing barstool biology because these guys are not biologists themselves, and have no standing to tell the citizens of Colorado they are stupid.

The third is, “Run for your lives!” They want you to believe that if we end the mass killing of 500 mountain lions on average per year, and unlimited numbers of bobcats (about 1,000 per year) these predators will come for you, your family, and your dogs. And deer and elk, so no one can hunt ungulates anymore.

Fear-mongering is in fashion in extremist politics. But I can tell you with 100% confidence that none of this end-of-the-world drama will ever happen.

California is a living laboratory. The Golden State has not allowed trophy-hunting lions for 50 years and guess what? Their lion populations are stable, deer persist, pets are fine, and so are ranch animals. Lions are respected as apex predators, as they deserve to be treated.

If you actually follow the peer-reviewed and published science, you discover that there is no shred of scientific evidence that trophy hunting or fur trapping is good for anything. It does not make anyone safe, it does not protect pets or livestock, and it does not grow deer for hunting deer.

In fact, the opposite is true. Several studies show that by killing off trophy lions, we are not only being cruel, but we are harming the future health of wildlife and whole ecosystems.

The cruelty is endless. Last year trophy shooters killed 501 lions, of which nearly half (47%) were females, who breed year-round. This means that when mommas leave the den for days, to find food for their young, they are shot dead. Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports that kittens stand a 4% chance to live without mom coming back and die miserably from starvation and dehydration.

And if you love dogs, as I do, you should vote “YES” because these trophy hunters have what they call “surplus” dogs, as they report members of the pack die in battles as the cat tries to survive the canine onslaught. Trophy hunters keep their dogs unhealthily skinny, as photographs show their ribs poking out while chasing cats; perhaps it is to keep them hungry.

Ecologically, lions and bobcats are known to be our best hope to combat the scourge of Chronic Wasting Disease, which is ravaging deer, elk, and moose of Colorado. This insidious infection causes holes in the brain, like Swiss cheese, and there is no cure. But lions bring hope, selectively killing infected deer, and both lions and bobcats are designed by Mother Nature to dilute the infection within their bodies, so it stays out of the environment altogether.

Let’s add it all up. Those who want to keep trophy-hunting lions and fur-trapping bobcats think it’s enjoyable to terrify cats with dogs, hold them in trees, and shoot them for fun. They also whack bobcats and strangle them, just to sell their fur.

Those who recognize that we are not living in the 1850s anymore know the vast ecological value of our wild cats. And those of us who have a shred of humanity recognize the value of basic humane standards, and they say a resounding “YES” to cats and yes to a kinder, more compassionate world where facts and science matter.

 It’s a no-brainer. Cats aren’t trophies, and the Colorado voters aren’t stupid. Vote “Yes” on Cats Aren’t Trophies and learn more at catsarenttrophies.org

Julie Marshall is Director of Communications for Cats Aren’t Trophies. She was born and raised in Colorado and looks forward to next year’s PrideFest. Featured image provided by Mathias Appel.