By Samantha Miller
Andrew Mossman’s guest opinion, “Hunting is key part of Colorado’s DNA,” feels like it was plagiarized from 1850, as he advocates killing mountain lions for sport, while modern science demonstrates these apex predators (not sport hunters) are the key to balancing nature.
His love letter to the past clings to an archaic view of mountain lions as menaces that deserve to be killed to keep women and children safe, to keep deer exclusive to his dinner table, to be dominated and killed for heads and hides (trophies).
In 2024, we know better, and we can do better for wildlife, healthy ecosystemsandfuture generations.
The idea that we would need mass killing of the North American lion assporthas failed the scrutiny of our best science, again and again.
Leading lion ecologists from across the West have tested hypotheses that assumebenefitsofsport huntinglions in nature. From1971through2023, scientists studied the efficacy and aftermath of killing to reduce lion populations;togive usmore deerand elk for our freezers; to prevent ourdogsand ourlivestockfrom predation.
A half-century of repetitive studies show no proof of need exists: Killing has never, ever worked.
In fact,studies show recreationalhuntingmountainlionsincreases the riskof human-lion conflict.
The only form of effective management without risk to humans is selective targeting of individual lions identified as a threat. The ballot measure called Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs) to end recreational sport hunting of lions supports continued effective management of individual lions bythe wildlifeexperts, just as they do today.
Mossman doesn’t offer science, because there isn’t any to support his false view of a need to sport hunt lions.
Those of us who believe in and follow science, have plenty.
Colorado Parks and Wildlifereported in January 2023 that after killing half the population of mountain lions in Colorado’s Arkansas Valley, the slaughter had no remarkable effect on deer populations.
The Hornocker Wildlife Research Institute found that after killing lions to artificially lower numbers, populations rebounded back to nature’s normal without human interference andwithoutoverpopulation.
“Mountain lion populations will stabilize at a level depending on available habitat and food resources,” the experts concluded.
After 50 years of banning sport hunting, lions are not overpopulated in California.
With so many threats to lion populations today — extreme winters, wildfires, disease, droughtandvehicle deaths — it would be extreme hubris for sport hunters to think they are doing a thing to “manage” populations.
“Anyone familiar with population ecology knows that killing lions for sport is a social decision, based on attitudes and what is considered acceptable as recreation,” explains Rick Hopkins, who has studied lions in the field for 45 years.
You will never hear from lion trophy hunters details about their kind of hunting for fun.
It’s a different kind of hunting that disregards ethical principles of “fair chase” in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
They use packs of dogs wearing GPS collars to corner sentient, smart, playfulandfascinating mountain lions. They walk up to a tree, where the lion has no escape, take aim and shoot. It is unsporting, cruelandinhumane.
Sometimes lions are pushed out onto cliffs and fall; there is ample video online showing dogs in bloody battles with lions. It is undeniable kittens are orphaned when nearly half oflionskilled are females; CPW says mothers willleave kittens alone for up to 12 days to go find food. Last year, we saw 500 lions killed (296 males, 204 females) in the name of sport.
Mossman doesn’t want you to read the science or see the realities on the ground, because they are a losing argument.
He may talk about “responsible hunting in the spirit of Colorado,” but smart citizens know this is not responsible hunting and it is the antithesis of the spirit of Colorado.
The vast majority of Coloradans would never support such a violent and unnecessary destruction of their wildlife just for the 2,000 people who want to keep doing it.
The world is different today than it was when fish and game agencies were created more than a century ago. We live in an era of global warming and biodiversity loss. The outdated, scientifically unfounded belief that trophy hunting would support healthy ecosystems is on its face absurd. To present such a reckless belief as fact is insulting to wildlife science, to wildlife, and tofuture generations of Coloradans.
We deserve better than the fantasies of mountain lion trophy hunters.
You can read the peer-reviewed and published studies on theScience pageat our website atwww.catsarenttrophies.organd join us as we gather signatures to get our measure on the ballot.
Samantha Miller lives in Grand Lake and isCampaign Manager for Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs), which is a citizen-led effort to ban trophy hunting of mountain lions and fur-trapping of bobcats.
