As mountain lion season approaches, big cat hunters are preparing to strike. At only $60 for Colorado residents, the license for hunters seeking big cats may be cheap, but the cost for the animals is high. Every year around 2,500 big cats are killed by hunters in Colorado, a staggering number that leaves kittens orphaned and destabilizes fragile ecosystems. 

Both big cat hunting season and election season start in November, and a group of Coloradans are aiming to make this episode of fear in the lives of Colorado’s big cats the last. Proposition 127 states that “… any trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, or lynx is inhumane, serves no socially acceptable or ecologically beneficial purpose, and fails to further public safety.” 

You may remember from a previous installment of this column that when it comes to the auctioning of bighorn sheep hunting licenses I was at first appalled, and then understanding of the place hunting can have in conservation. The situation for big cats exists in stark contrast to the situation for bighorn sheep. 

Although both mountain lions and bighorn sheep are considered “of least concern” on the endangered species list, it is well understood that predator populations are always much smaller than prey, meaning mountain lions are more susceptible to being destabilized by excessive hunting. Additionally, tactics are already in place to control the mountain lion population when conflicts occur, and around 60 mountain lions are already killed each year for this reason.

Mountain lions bring balance to Colorado’s ecosystem by controlling deer populations and nurturing biodiversity in the wake of climate change. Artificially reducing their numbers through cruel means only succeeds in throwing off this delicate balance.

Moreover, the hunting methods themselves are often inhumane with GPS-tagged dogs chasing the cats into trees where they can be shot at point-blank range by hunters. Many bobcats are even killed by strangulation to preserve the hide. 

The hide or head of big cats serves only as a trophy or profit for hunters, and their deaths do nothing to serve the ecological or public good. Lion hunting contributes to only 0.1% of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife budget, meaning the cost of ending the program is minimal. 

If you are registered to vote in Colorado, I urge you to support Proposition 127 to end the cruel pattern of big cat trophy hunting here and restore the balance of Colorado’s wildlife.