A new bill, introduced to the Colorado General Assembly last week, proposes a statewide ban on the hunting of mountain lions, Canada lynx, and bobcats in Colorado.
Mountain lion and bobcat hunts are currently authorized for some in the state, given an up-to-date hunting license and proper tags, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).
"It is illegal to obtain a mountain lion license or hunt lions without a mountain lion education certificate issued by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), attesting to successful completion of CPW’s Mountain Lion Education and Identification Course," CPW said on their website's information page on mountain lion hunting.
Senate Bill 031 would outlaw any shooting, wounding, killing, or trapping of these animals.
The bill outlines the following exceptions for the ban, saying a mountain lion, lynx, or bobcat could be killed legally if it is:
- Immediately necessary to protect an individual from bodily harm
- By a peace officer or licensed veterinarian acting in the course and scope of their duties
- By a federal, state, or local department of health to protect human health or safety
- Authorized by a scientific collecting license
- Authorized by a wildlife sanctuary license
- Authorized by a commercial wildlife park license, unless the license authorizes the licensee to shoot, wound, kill, or engage in trapping bobcats, Canada lynx, or mountain lions
- By a zoological park accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums or is authorized by a zoological park license
- Expressly authorized by federal law
- By the division of parks and wildlife (division) for the protection of a threatened species or an endangered species
- By the division for the purpose of relocating the animal and is done using nonlethal methods and devices.
"The bill also establishes an exception for a livestock owner if the shooting, wounding, killing, or trapping of a bobcat or mountain lion occurs on land owned or leased by the livestock owner and is immediately necessary to protect livestock and to protect further loss of livestock if certain conditions are met," the bill reads.
If the bill passes, penalties for illegally killing one of these animals could include a fine of $500 to $2,000 or up to one year in jail, an assessment of 20 hunting license suspension points, and civil restitution of $700 for a mountain lion or bobcat and $1,000 for a Canada lynx.
"Additionally, upon conviction, the commission may suspend the person's hunting license for up to 5 years," the bill read.
The proposal comes just two years after the Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission approved the West Slope Mountain Lion Management Plan, which reduced the number of annual mountain lion hunting licenses and revised limit laws.
"This plan actually enacts a reduction of more than 70 lions in the maximum annual harvest allowed across the entire West Slope (including the Glenwood Springs area)," CPW said.
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