COLORADO — If approved by voters, initiative 91 will ban trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx.
The initiative reads that trophy hunting of mountain cats is inhumane and serves no social or ecological purpose, stating that trophy hunting of these bobcats is primarily for the display of the cat's head or fur, rather than the utilization of meat.
"I'm very much pro for this initiative," says Mark Surls.
He is the volunteer and outreach coordinator of the Cat's Aren't Trophies, who are campaigning to save Colorado's wild cats. He says that keeping mountain lions in our wildlife rather than killing them is crucial to our ecosystem.
"We need to value our predators and include them with all the other wildlife that we admire and respect because of the services that they provide. Ecosystems aren't complete unless all the players are there," he said.
Mike Costello disagrees.
"Personally, I'm not in favor of the initiative," he said.
He is part of the non-profit Howl for Wildlife. He says that if we ban the hunting of these lions, our parks may not look the same as the increase in more mountain lions means more animals they'll need to eat.
If the initiative is voted in this November, any person convicted of an offense under this section who holds a wildlife license will not be able to hold privileges such as a license for five years.
And if a person is convicted of two or more offenses under this section, they will be banned from holding a license for life.
For more information about the initiative, click here.
Piper Vaughn, News5.
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