Colorado voters will decide Tuesday whether the regulated hunting of mountain lions and bobcats should continue — the culmination of months of intense campaigning from both sides of the issue.
If Proposition 127 passes, mountain lions and bobcats cannot be legally hunted, though Colorado Parks and Wildlife and regular citizens will still be able to legally kill animals that become a threat, in certain situations. The state’s wildlife agency has regulated cat hunting since 1965.
ELECTION RESULTS: Live Colorado election results for the 2024 election
This story will be updated after the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office begins posting voting results after polls close at 7 p.m.
Anti-cat hunting advocates placed the question on the ballot after collecting more than the 120,000 signatures required by state law.
Those who support the cat hunting ban said the methods to hunt mountain lions and bobcats are unethical and that hunting is unnecessary to regulate cat populations. They also asserted that mountain lion hunters are primarily seeking a trophy head or pelt and are not hunting the animal for the meat. Therefore, the hunting of the species should be considered trophy hunting and banned, proponents have argued.
Opponents of the hunting ban say Colorado Parks and Wildlife should decide how to manage wildlife populations — not voters. They also dispute that mountain lion hunting is trophy hunting because state law requires that mountain lion meat be prepared for consumption.
CPW estimates that between 3,800 and 4,400 mountain lions live in the state. The wildlife agency says the population is strong and abundant.
Though there is no estimated number of bobcats in Colorado, state wildlife officials say the population is healthy and may be increasing in some areas.
Related Articles
Proposition 127 would ban mountain lion and bobcat hunting in Colorado. Here’s what you need to know.
If Colorado voters ban mountain lion hunting, would the feline’s population explode — or stabilize on its own?
Should Colorado’s mountain lions be hunted? Voters could decide in new ballot initiative
Neither species is listed as threatened or endangered in the U.S.
Hunters can purchase a license to hunt a single mountain lion and a different license to hunt an unlimited number of bobcats. On average, hunters have killed 505 mountain lions and 831 bobcats annually over the last three years, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife data.
Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.