Colorado's Proposed Ban on Mountain Lion Hunting is a Warning to All American Hunters
Dear John,
Anti-hunting groups have forced Colorado Proposition 127 on the November 5 ballot as an "Initiated State Statute" designed to prohibit hunting of mountain lions and bobcats.
If passed, this initiative would destroy a long tradition of science-based wildlife management and mountain lion hunting in the state of Colorado.
Sadly, the Colorado anti-hunting initiative is about more than mountain lions or even a specific state. This attempted ban is a warning to all American hunters that ant-hunting and anti-gun forces nationwide want to destroy our firearms culture and hunting traditions.
The Colorado measure ignores the fact that populations of lions and bobcats are healthy and thriving, and hunting is carefully managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Furthermore, the sweeping language used in this Colorado initiative could be expanded in the future to ban the hunting of other game animals like deer, elk, and sheep.
California implemented a similar mountain lion hunting ban decades ago, and the state now spends millions in taxpayer funds each year to pay government-funded employees to control lion populations as hunters are no longer able to participate in the wildlife management process.
California's experience tells us that if Colorado mountain lion hunting is banned, it is likely that government-funded lethal removal will be necessary to protect humans, livestock, and pets in many circumstances.
Anti-hunting groups won't stop with this Colorado initiative. While Colorado lion and bobcat hunters may be the target today, anti-hunting groups have tried to ban, and plan future attempts to ban, the hunting of many animals in other jurisdictions across the Country.
