Denver & Boulder voters to ban hunting of cats in 2024

[justin davis]

But is managing for maximum big game hunting opportunity really what's best for the ecosystem as a whole?

Or just what's best for those of us who hunt?

Look at California. They
Got lion hunting banned. Now they have more lions and more issues and more lions are killed Because they are “problems” now. So was it a win for the lions? No it wasn’t. It was just a win for the antis because hunters can lt Hunt them. But Antis don’t give a crap about the actual animal and conservation


Same story with Colorado spring bear. They got that banned. Now we have hundreds of bears every year killed by CPW and wasted But that’s better than a hunter paying money for a tag and harvesting the bear. What a win

 

[sndmn11]

We need to go full retard on this, you know the peta billboards that say where do you draw the line? We need some thing similar with fawn and calf’s ripped apart by a lion, we need them on I-25 and I-70, in town. Some short slogan, most people appeal to emotion: hence the picture of baby bobcats in the original article we need the same

The wolf opposition didn't work because nothing was organized.

We can run digital ads on META targeting the political middle and most likely to vote. They are pretty lenient with their policy right now. The spend has to be present and probably a bunch of hoops to jump through to form an entity or PAC or properly register or whatever.

I just don't see someone taking starting an entity to oppose this initiative on as a full time job, or an existing entity (RMEF, MDF, SFW, BHA) being the champion.

 

[oldskool67]

Democrats

 

[Michael Rankin]

But is managing for maximum big game hunting opportunity really what's best for the ecosystem as a whole?

Or just what's best for those of us who hunt?

Well, take a peek at the management objectives that the biologists set. They typically base those off what the think is the carrying capacity for the habitat/area they manage.

Start looking at what percentage of management objective deer or elk are in some of these states that have very limited or almost no“management” of predators.

I can’t speak for all of these states, but I’m pretty familiar with my state of Oregon.

I have also spent some time looking at this in the B Zone in California, and talked to the biologists down there. I think my first hunt down there was 18-20 years ago, and did the last 10-12 years ago. After the last hunt the biologists I spoke with estimated deer numbers were down 50 percent in the Bzone area I had hunted.

In Oregon lots of the mule deer units are around 50 percent of management objectives.

In NE Oregon lots of the previously OTC archery tags went to a draw last year, bull to cow ratios are plummeting in lots of those units. The plummeting bull to cow numbers began just as the wolf numbers have exploded. The unit I hunt I can start to also see the change in the age structures of the herds. Not only is the bull to cow ratio way down(based of ODFW data, it seems the last 5 years I’m seeing way less large/older herd bulls with large herds of cows and satellite bulls around the herd. It’s way more younger bulls that each have 3-4 cows.

The MYODFW website has lots of studies and information on the various big game species, and on predators

The cow/calf ratios & doe/fawn ratios are extremely poor in lots of the units, caused by predation.

So in conclusion, according to the “experts” lots of areas in Oregon the “ecosystem as a whole” isn’t in a healthy balance.

Also don’t forget that humans are one of the species on this planet. That seems to be a part of the equation I see many people want to ignore in predator/climate discussions on the couple hunting website I frequent. I have actually had several discussions with people who end up advocating for the control of the human population, so the rest of the “ecosystem” could reach their “natural balance”.

 

[TradArcher]

I dunno...the live trapping and then relocation of Lions to urban areas might maybe be the answer...stealth catch and release missions.
Just speculation though...

 

[Hnthrdr]

Agree but now that censorship is becoming the norm, good luck. You may be labeled as a spreader of misinformation and be jailed.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

Considering we live in essentially a banana republic probably, but when will the sane people get a spot back at the table, seems like loonies and soccer moms run the country now… and it’s not working out

 

[DertyBert]

We need to educate people on the importance of hunting and managing cats.

I’m with Justin. These people live on top of each other in the city and have no “real world” knowledge of the implications of this and how it will adversely affect many other populations. Like a lot of ideas that come from that side of the table, sounds fine on paper but doesn’t work in real world applications. The right kind of education and outreach could potentially go a long ways.

However it can’t be just cat hunters fighting this. Deer, elk, and sheep hunters and associated organizations need to get involved because the Denver voters are going to take our hunting little by little. This isn’t just about cat hunting.

Maybe if enough nonresident otc elk hunters voice their opinions to CPW, they may even wake up and do a large education campaign…

 

[cuerro viejo]

there is no left wing anti hunting agenda, Im sure all those voters are Republicans.

 

[TurkeyReaper69]

I’m with Justin. These people live on top of each other in the city and have no “real world” knowledge of the implications of this and how it will adversely affect many other populations. Like a lot of ideas that come from that side of the table, sounds fine on paper but doesn’t work in real world applications. The right kind of education and outreach could potentially go a long ways.

However it can’t be just cat hunters fighting this. Deer, elk, and sheep hunters and associated organizations need to get involved because the Denver voters are going to take our hunting little by little. This isn’t just about cat hunting.

Maybe if enough nonresident otc elk hunters voice their opinions to CPW, they may even wake up and do a large education campaign…

First they came for the trappers
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trapper.
Then they came for the houndsmen
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a houndsmen
Then they came for the predator hunters
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a predator hunter
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

When I lived in the eastern U.S. I thought the biggest threat to hunting was ourselves (influencers, YouTube, dumba**es, etc.) And as far as southeastern hunting I still believe that is the case. Now that I live in Colorado, I believe the biggest threat to hunting is these lunatics pedaling this BS to uninformed voters from the front range.

Washington, Oregon, and Colorado are in a race to see who can be the most California.

 

[Bluefish]

Big cats already hunt in urban areas. They just tend to do it at night so are not as visible. Pretty sure both cats and wolves will move into the front range as it’s easier hunting and more plentiful food as the herd numbers drop. Unfortunately it will have a bad result all the way around. More predators will be killed due to encounters and people will lose pets and get injured. Imho Colorado is already lost. In a generation or two all things I loved to do there will be severely restricted or gone.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

California also got bobcat hunting banned as of 2020 I believe it was. Used to kill them every season and was a very fun and unique hunt.

With Colorado being "California Junior" and now Idaho being "Little California" just keep watching this happen in more and more places that were traditionally hunter friendly states.

 

[street]

But is managing for maximum big game hunting opportunity really what's best for the ecosystem as a whole?

Or just what's best for those of us who hunt?

That's not how DAUs are managed

 

[displacedtexan]

That's not how DAUs are managed

I know.

But many hunters tend to think (or at least vocalize) "more (what I like to hunt) means things in the ecosystem are better".

In some cases it does. In others? Not so much.

 

[PathFinder]

I know.

But many hunters tend to think (or at least vocalize) "more (what I like to hunt) means things in the ecosystem are better".

In some cases it does. In others? Not so much.

I understand your point.
One aspect to consider is houndsmans' perspective on predator populations, as we're the ones with dogs in the fight here (pun intended). Houndsmen generally advocate for generous pursuit seasons, but limited harvest. Our goal is to have predator populations that are held in reasonable balance, but high enough numbers to facilitate successful pursuits whenever we can go out to hunt. In the case of cats, we're always happy to see high numbers. Nobody is happier to see a lot of cats around than houndsmen, not even the craziest cat lady in her studio apartment in downtown Boulder

 

[Hnthrdr]

Like I said before I don’t know a houndsman who kills female cats often or at all hounds make it possible to specifically kill big Toms

 

[svivian]

I understand your point.
One aspect to consider is houndsmans' perspective on predator populations, as we're the ones with dogs in the fight here (pun intended). Houndsmen generally advocate for generous pursuit seasons, but limited harvest. Our goal is to have predator populations that are held in reasonable balance, but high enough numbers to facilitate successful pursuits whenever we can go out to hunt. In the case of cats, we're always happy to see high numbers. Nobody is happier to see a lot of cats around than houndsmen, not even the craziest cat lady in her studio apartment in downtown Boulder

Exactly

 

[displacedtexan]

I understand your point.
One aspect to consider is houndsmans' perspective on predator populations, as we're the ones with dogs in the fight here (pun intended). Houndsmen generally advocate for generous pursuit seasons, but limited harvest. Our goal is to have predator populations that are held in reasonable balance, but high enough numbers to facilitate successful pursuits whenever we can go out to hunt. In the case of cats, we're always happy to see high numbers. Nobody is happier to see a lot of cats around than houndsmen, not even the craziest cat lady in her studio apartment in downtown Boulder

Makes sense to me!

I'm mostly a dog man. Coyotes and bobcats kill a lot of stuff that eats a lot more quail than they do, so they're still a net positive for quail.

Plus, I just like looking at different stuff on the landscape! Lol

 

[pirogue]

Washington, Oregon, and Colorado are in a race to see who can be the most California.

All one big happy family of treehuggers.

 

[LuvsFixedBlades]

Anyone else wondering what the fine will be for baiting wolves with poached cat meat?

 

[LuvsFixedBlades]

We need to go full retard on this, you know the peta billboards that say where do you draw the line? We need some thing similar with fawn and calf’s ripped apart by a lion, we need them on I-25 and I-70, in town. Some short slogan, most people appeal to emotion: hence the picture of baby bobcats in the original article we need the same

I've got $20 on the 1st billboard. Let's make it happen.

Let's change the killed animals on it to Yorkshire Terriers and the Doodle de jure to make the point though.

We have to think like these anti's do to beat them. They literally think wolves and lions killing fawns and calves is what is supposed to happen....in their mind, that's just how nature is supposed to work. We probably shouldn't tell them that wolves kill lions, too.

What we really need to do is find a legal way to unzip the mouths of CPW. They need to be heard to educate the masses and put a stake in the ground on the facts. Having a perpetual gag order on the most qualified local wildlife experts and biologists in the state is a loophole preventing them from guiding proper decision making on such issues. That gag order might be the single biggest thing the anti's have going for them.