Robert Redford, Jane Goodall join cat fight over Colorado Initiative 91

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A ballot measure to ban hunting of bobcats and mountain lions has resulted in a cat fight between the two sides of the issue.

The group advocating for the ban trotted out celebrity endorsements this week from acclaimed biologist Jane Goodall and movie star Robert Redford. The Sportsman Alliance said those supporting the measure are radicals. “Once again, we’re witnessing animal extremists stopping at no lengths to spread falsities and outright lies to the general public,” said Todd Adkins, vice president of government affairs at Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, in a news release. “They buy signatures, slander hunters and trappers, disrespect Colorado’s professional wildlife managers, and lie to the faces of well-meaning Coloradans to shove their extreme ideology down everyone’s throats. The simple truth is they couldn’t care less about the lives they put in danger by pushing this radical ideology.”

Redford has Colorado roots

According to a Cats Aren’t Trophies news release, Redford and Goodall both support the initiative. “Preserving the natural balance of Colorado’s wilderness means respecting all its inhabitants,” said Redford. “Mountain lions and bobcats are vital to the ecosystem, and their lives should not be reduced to trophies or pelts. Banning trophy hunting and fur trapping is not just about protecting these magnificent creatures — it’s about safeguarding the integrity of our natural world for future generations.”

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Redford worked at The Sink on University Hill, where a painting of his likeness figures prominently among the murals, according to the news release. Both his children attended CU-Boulder, as did he.

Goodall gives her blessing

“These magnificent animals are sentient beings and like us can feel happy, sad, nervous, and fearful. This means they can suffer mentally as well as physically. They are not out there to be shot for trophies or to make money,” stated Dr. Jane Goodall, a UN Messenger of Peace who is world-renowned for her landmark and groundbreaking work for wildlife conservation.

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But according to the Sportsman Alliance, “Outside of the formal petition, the messaging used by CATs to gather support is full of mistruths and downright lies. They use terms such as cruel, unjustifiable, inhumane, guaranteed kill, fringe and dirty to describe well-regulated, science-based hunting and trapping. CATs also grossly disparage hunters by claiming the goal of our pursuits is to ‘slay … animals for their heads.’”

Are cats needed to slow wasting disease spread?

Cats aren’t Trophies maintains that bobcats and mountain lions are needed to stop the spread of deer and elk wasting disease in the wild. CAT claims the big cats prevent the spread of the disease by preying upon the unhealthy ones. The cats do not contract the disease.

According to the news release, the wasting disease has no cure and "has been judged by scientists and some major hunting organizations as a long-term threat to the health of deer and elk populations in Colorado, thereby threatening the future of the most economically and culturally significant forms of hunting, which is for deer and elk, especially for rural Colorado."

Hunting of cats heavily regulated

But hunting groups maintain that harvesting bobcats and mountain lions is heavily regulated in Colorado, and the number of permits granted are based on science. In a Colorado Parks and Wildlife video posted in November, an official said mountain lions in Colorado are in no way threatened. Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management wants voters to know that. “Over the last five years, relentless attempts have been made to undermine the regulated harvest of Colorado mountain lions and bobcats,” according to the organization’s website. “The onslaught has now escalated with the proposed Initiative 91, which aims to strip away the very foundation of science-based wildlife management. By doing so, it seeks to deprive Colorado’s wildlife managers and the sporting community of their rights to manage, pursue, and harvest these well-regulated species.”

The initiative also would outlaw hunting lynx in Colorado, but they already are federally and state protected. “Individuals convicted of any of these activities are subject to up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, and a five-year hunting license suspension, with more stringent penalties for subsequent convictions,” according to the draft version of the legislative summary of the initiative. “Trophy hunting is generally understood to be the hunting of wildlife for sport instead of for food. Usually, trophy hunters stuff the animal or keep a body part to display. While the measure uses the term ‘trophy hunting,’ it bans all killing, pursuing, or entrapping of bobcats, lynx, and mountain lions regardless of the hunter’s purpose.”