SHOWDOWN IN COLORADO

AS MONEY AND RHETORIC FLOW INTO A HEATED BALLOT INITIATIVE, ONE THING IS CLEAR: THE VERY FUTURE OF HUNTING ACROSS THE U.S. HANGS IN THE BALANCE.

By Andrew McKean

On the surface, the ballot initiative that likely will be decided this November by Colorado voters would only affect a few hundred mountain lion and bobcat hunters and the outfitters who guide them to wild cats. According to its text, Colorado Initiative 91 would “ban trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx” in the state. But make no mistake, says Dan Gates, executive director of Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management (CRWM), a pro-hunting group that opposes the ballot measure. The initiative is so broadly worded that its passage would likely achieve what its proponents intend: to end all forms of legal hunting. “They say they want to curtail trophy hunting, but the definition in the petition says ‘intentional killing,’” Gates explains. “All of hunting is intentional killing. If they are going…

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Game & Fish East (Digital) - 1 Issue, June/July 2024

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