Jerry Apker tells us that Prop 127 is not about biology at all. “Instead, the question is a broader referendum on hunting as a whole,” he says.
That is fear talking, not science. Prop 127 is for ethical hunting and science.
Ethical hunting is sporting, with fair chase of prey that has a chance to get away. It requires skill and hard work; holds quiet reverence to feed an entire family for the entire season, with extra meat for community.
Lion hunting uses a guide paid thousands of dollars to send out a dog pack, tracked by phone app, chauffeuring the shooter as close as possible to the lion perched on a tree limb. You can read this exact description online that uses the term ‘trophy’ multiple times.
Bobcat fur trapping uses bait, holds a predator in extreme cold in a cage for 24 hours, followed by a slow suffering and death from choking, to preserve fur for market prices. This industry has turned to injecting acetone, yes you heard that right, because it is cheap and preserves the pelt.
Neither are honorable, reverent, produce meat for a family and neighbors, nor resemble hunting.
Nowhere in the statutes of Colorado does it in fact say trophy hunting is illegal.
Dan Ashe led our nation’s wildlife agency, and calls this kind of hunting “unscientific and unethical.”
Science is not opinion. We know that lion populations will stabilize, not increase under Prop 127, as we see this playing over 52 years in California, which has not hunted lions for this long. Denying how nature works is like denying global warming.
Opponents are full of fluff, just buzz words and cliches. Also hypocritical ones, because Prop 127 allows the professionals, to manage wildlife, the rare lions who get into trouble.
Funding matters to voters. Safari Club, the second largest contributor to opponents, puts mountain lion trophies at the top of its World Hunting Award Field Journal.
The largest donor is Virginia’s Concord Fund, a conservative political machine, and has nothing to do with wildlife. Prop 127 is not partisan, supported by both former Sen. Mark Udall (D) and former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R).
The largest donor for a YES on Prop 127 is The Wild Animal Sanctuary, not politicians, with the largest small local donations.
Prop 127 supports wild cats not as trophies or fur coats, but as ecological service providers, keeping our wildlife healthy from disease. Trophy hunters take out the large cats and the best genes in the pool.
Join me and vote YES on Prop 127. Let’s not revert to the past and allow any of our native species to be killed, without science or reason.
Robin Dow
Edwards, CO