What is trophy hunting? And why does it matter for Colorado’s Prop 127?
“Trophy hunting” is the barbaric practice of killing non-human animals simply for emotional enjoyment, or the “thrill.” Animals that are trophy hunted are not hunted for food, but rather, entertainment. After the animal has been killed in any number of ways, trophy hunters will often ‘pose’ with the butchered animal. Following this, if the animal is not simply left to rot in place, it will be skinned, or have its head preserved as a trophy.
These actions are out of step with mainstream values across the U.S. The revulsion that trophy hunting inspires in us is not niche, nor is the opposition of trophy hunting a radical position. As of 2022, a whopping 76 percent of Americans opposed the practice. (1) And it’s a uniting cause: hunters, anglers, scientists, and the general public alike condemn trophy hunting. People from all sides of the aisle agree: animals are not trophies.
So, why is “predator hunting” (in this case, the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynxes) inherently considered trophy hunting? The practice of eating any one of these animals is virtually non-existent. Your average wildcat hunter is certainly not butchering the animal for his or her tasty meat. And whether they’re killed in a guided hunt, caught in a trap, or massacred in a wildlife killing contest, the people behind the gun are usually still posing with the dead animals for the camera.
In reality, the meat of nearly all predators is unpalatable, often being described as bitter or chewy. This is the main reason why you never see mountain lion on your local fast food menu. So, let’s call it like it is. If the animals are not being exploited for sustenance, they are being exploited for entertainment. So, they’re trophies.
Trophy hunters may be a small, dwindling minority, but it is this small subset of humans that is responsible for a disproportionate degree of suffering. Every year in Colorado, trophy hunters kill 500 mountain lions. And unsurprisingly, the vast majority of mountain lion deaths in Colorado are caused by this trophy hunting.
How can I help?
If you are a Colorado resident, we encourage you to vote YES on Colorado Proposition 127 to prohibit the trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynxes. Spread the word; enlist family and friends in the mission to stop this injustice. Public awareness is the first step in dismantling a system steeped in corruption and anthropocentrism.
If you are not a Colorado resident, you can help as well. Ask:
- Do you have wildcats in your state?
- Where does your state stand?
- Do you know the federal laws that do or don’t protect these animals?
Both Colorado and California have similar numbers of mountain lion populations (around the 4,000 individuals ballpark), and while mountain lion hunting has been illegal in California since 1990, mountain lion killing in Colorado continues to take place on an unregulated and immoral scale.
Expanding on the success of California’s mountain lion management:
Estimates of California mountain lion populations place them around the same as Colorado. However, despite this effort, their populations have dwindled. This is a multifaceted issue. How do we push people to ban together against mountain lion hunting when we can’t concretely see the numbers improving? Yes, individual mountain lions may be saved, but is that enough for our audience? How do we go about discussing the larger issues at play? Do we mention them here? It would be hard to quantify how many mountain lions this actually saved, when they’re still up against habitat loss and low genetic diversity. Also, should we tie this into the rodenticide problem? How can we convince people it’s not too late for the populations of Colorado mountain lions?
Wherever you’re located, you can visit our partner https://catsarenttrophies.org/reports/ to learn more about Colorado proposition 127.
Lastly, please consider joining Wildlife For All in our fight towards democratic wildlife management, where we believe that laws and regulations should reflect the shifting public conscience towards nature and wildlife.
Supplemental Information
Ecological relevance
A keystone species is defined by National Geographic as “…an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem”. Mountain lions, lynxes, and bobcats are all considered to be keystone species. In short, each of the three animals aid in regulating prey populations, and in turn foster healthy ecosystems. Interestingly, mountain lions are highly resistant to CWD, a prion disease spreading through USA cervid populations. Like all prion diseases, CWD has a mortality rate of 100%, and some prion diseases in non-human animals (as in Mad Cow Disease) are transmissible to humans. Prions are difficult to destroy, they are immune to traditional sterilization methods like freezing, extreme heat, autoclaving, and even radiation. Adding to this, prions are able to persist in an environment for years after the host has died. Mountain lions, however, have been shown not simply to be resistant to CWD transmission, but also actively seem to eliminate prions through the process of digestion, owing to the fact that only a minute percentage of prion material is excreted in their feces.
Hunting cats: a horrid history
Theodore Roosevelt, perhaps one of the most famous trophy hunters in US history, killed over 11,000 animals over the course of his many excursions to various African countries. Roosevelt had a strong distaste for predators, perhaps best illustrated by an account wherein he described stabbing a mountain lion to death with a knife after grievously injuring the innocent animal with his hunting dogs. Unfortunately, stories like this extend into the present, where we see trophy hunters publicly boasting of their kills. The only difference is that, Theodore Roosevelt, these modern hunters are equipped with high tech hunting gear that enables them to inflict as much cruelty as possible. That being said, It’s time the public bands together to put an end to a tradition entrenched in barbarism from its very onset.
References
- The Role of the United States in International Trophy Hunting: Import and export of hunting trophies of CITES-listed mammal species between 2014 and 2018, The Humane Society
About this post
This post is a guest post by Charlotte Cleveland, Wildlife for All intern. Charlotte is currently a biology student at Lake Forest College, where she is building a strong foundation in ecological research and sustainable conservation practices. Her academic pursuits are driven by a dedication to ethical wildlife management that integrates modern environmental values and biodiversity protection. Charlotte actively works to promote inclusive wildlife governance that balances ecological integrity with public interests and science-based policies. She aspires to contribute to wildlife conservation efforts that prioritize representation, equity, and accountability in state wildlife policies.