Letter to the Editor: Respect the science before voting for Proposition 127
Letter to the Editor
Here are the current facts — a mountain lion harvest is one of the most regulated hunts that you can go on in the state of Colorado, harvest limits are set annually by CPW and are contingent on the health of female cats. When pursuing a mountain lion harvest you must check the harvest limit each morning before going out, if the limit is reached numbers are recorded and available to the public meaning that tag holders cannot pursue a harvest.
It is currently illegal to harvest a lion without processing it for consumption. Mountain lion meat is noted to be very pork-like. It is also illegal to use electronic calls, or to harvest a female with young or the young itself (CPW, lion brochure).
Before even pursuing a mountain lion in the state of Colorado, hunters are required to complete a specific lion course and must pass the exam created by CPW. Trophy hunting of mountain lions in the state of Colorado is in fact illegal as it stands. The current definition of a trophy hunt according to SPCA International, “is the hunting of wild animals for sport, not for food …” Within this proposition the term trophy is being used as a blanket term, evoking an emotional response from any sensible human, in actuality this is a proposed hunting ban. Using the term trophy in such a way is dangerous to hunting in its entirety.
Colorado’s current lion management plan has been used as a successful model for states with unstable cat populations. If this is passed that does not mean that cats will not be killed. CPW will have to hire out a harvester to help regulate the population (just as CA has done in years previous). What this does do is take a potential food resource out of the hands of Colorado residents, and limited non-residents and render the killing of mountain lions for regulation not usable to the public, virtueless.
To be a hunter is to interact intimately with our land, appreciate the animals that inhabit it, and to understand the significance of life and how the virtue of life is carried through the sustenance it provides.
You can choose to not hunt, but allow for others to make their own choice under science-based regulations of CPW. The grocery store does not have the same heart as a hunter.
Arianna Birdseye, angler, hunter and outdoor educator
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