A ballot measure that could end mountain lion and bobcat hunting and trapping in Colorado is driven by emotion, not science, and it highlights that state’s rural-urban divide, a wildlife conservationist said.

“In the rural areas of both states (Colorado and Wyoming), you find similar mindsets. The problem here is that Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs have booming populations, and you frequently have people with a different mindset,” Bryan Jones told Cowboy State Daily.

He’s the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) chapter coordinator for Colorado and Wyoming and lives in Castle Rock, Colorado.

The Colorado Legislature last year rejected a measure to end mountain lion hunting there. Undaunted, The Center for a Humane Economy and other animal rights advocates pushed for a ballot initiative that would effectively ban hunting and trapping mountain lions, bobcat and lynx in Colorado.

That push succeeded, gathering the 126,000 signatures required to put it on the November 2024 ballot in Colorado.

Emotion, Not Science

Advocates of the ballot measure claim that pursuing mountain lions with hounds, which is allowed in both Wyoming and Colorado, is inhumane. They also claim that most bobcat pelts from animals trapped in the West are sent to Russia and China.

The ballot initiative tries to frame wildcat hunting and trapping as “trophy hunting” done purely for sport or profit, Jones said, adding that’s not the case.

“Lynx are already protected in Colorado. The fact that species is even added in is muddying the waters. Trying to classify this as ‘trophy hunting’ is also muddying the waters,” Jones said. “It’s already illegal to