CATs Independence Day: A Celebration of Success Among 900 Colorado Citizen Volunteers Across 46 Colorado Counties

Citizens plan to gather at the state Capitol July 3 to celebrate exercising their democratic freedoms to protect wildlife from the worst kind of cruelty

DENVER, COLORADO, UNITED STATES, June 26, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Media is invited to attend CATs Independence Day at the state Capitol on the East Lawn the morning of July 3, as a celebration to honor 900 volunteers from across 46 Colorado Counties — a diverse mix of citizens living in our mountain, rural, urban and suburban communities — who worked tirelessly to collect signatures and ensure the initiative liberating Colorado’s mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx from cruel and inhumane trophy hunting and trapping is included on the November ballot.

Following the event, the campaign will submit its petitions to the Colorado Secretary of State, clearing a significant hurdle to place the Cats Aren’t Trophies measure on the state ballot in November.

“As a resident of rural Colorado, and the CATs campaign manager, it has been incredible to see such a show of unity from hundreds of Coloradans across our rural, urban, suburban and mountain communities. Coloradans from all walks of life stepped forward to volunteer with the CATs campaign because they no longer want to see their native mountain lions and bobcats chased by packs of dogs and killed to collect trophies, or pocket cash from selling bobcat fur overseas,” said Samantha Miller, Cats Aren’t Trophies campaign manager. “This Independence Day weekend we will be honoring our hard-working volunteers statewide and celebrating the upcoming freedom of our wild cats from the most inhumane, commercial head-hunting exercises that should have already been relegated to the history books.”

Volunteer Kenneth Ramsey of Douglas County offers this statement about why he joined CATs to end the cruel and inhumane killing of mountain lions and bobcats by the hundreds as “sport” every year in Colorado:

“I still buy hunting and fishing licenses every year and I know mountain lions are killed by hunters who do not want the meat. Chasing lions with dogs is not fair- chase and should have ended long ago! Colorado is changing faster than ever before. The time for subduing wildlife is in the past. In my opinion sport killing or trophy killing of mountain lions is no longer an acceptable practice. Now is the time to coexist with our wildlife and thereby support what is left of our vanishing ecosystems.”

Event Schedule:

• 9:45 a.m. citizens from across the state will gather on the East Lawn of the state Capitol, located at 200 E. Colfax Ave., Denver.

• 10 a.m. Welcome speech by Sam Miller, Cats Aren’t Trophies campaign manager, followed by CATs coalition core member Pat Craig, founder of The Wild Animal Sanctuary and more words of inspiration by CATs volunteers.

• 10:30 a.m. Loading of the final box of petitions onto a truck to head to the Secretary of State’s office for delivery along with hundreds of thousands of petitions on site, located at 1700 Broadway, Denver.

Media interviews may be scheduled ahead or after the celebration, in-person or virtual to meet your needs.

Please contact Julie Marshall, 720 255 9831 or juliem@catsarenttrophies.org

Key Statistics:

• Colorado requires 124,238 verified signatures of registered voters of Colorado in order for any measure to be placed on the November ballot.

• CATs volunteers will be turning in hundreds of boxes filled with an estimated 200,000 petitions.

• CATs is made up of 900 Colorado citizen volunteers who are not paid, and represent 46 out of 64 counties across Colorado — spanning across mountain, urban, rural and suburban communities — where they reside with their families. (*See full list below)

• CATs volunteers represent 72% of all Colorado counties. Interestingly, it was 70% of Colorado voters who passed a ban on the unfair baiting and cruel chasing of our native black bears using packs of dogs, in spring when cubs were being orphaned.

• CATs is endorsed by nearly 100 organizations, including wildlife conservation organizations. These include: The Wildlife Animal Sanctuary, Colorado Sierra Club, seven Audubon Societies in both rural and urban areas, hunting and wildlife tourism businesses and organizations, big cat and small animal veterinarians, humane societies and many more diverse organizations representing a wide array of interests. See the full list here: Endorsements | Cats Aren't Trophies (catsarenttrophies.org)

• Trophy hunting of mountain lions remains the No. 1 cause of lion mortality in Colorado. Lion populations today in Colorado are only estimates. Two years ago, the state reported we had upwards of 7,000 lions, today the state reports that was a serious overreach by thousands, and we may only have upwards of 4,400. It could be as low as 3,800. Lions are also threatened by vehicles, disease, drought, extreme wildfires and brutal winters, loss of habitat and they risk mortal injuries while hunting elk, experts say, as elk outweigh them significantly.

• California has not allowed hunting of mountain lions as a sport in a half-century. Their lion populations are officially listed as “stable.” Their management of mountain lions is based on ecological values, not sport shooting them for trophies.

• Last season, 501 mountain lions were killed by trophy hunters who keep their heads and hides, and routinely post photos of “the hug” of the dead, bloody animal. Nearly half (47%) were females. Female lions breed year-round. Trophy hunting inhumanely and undeniably orphans kittens, who will statistically starve to death. Without human hunting pressure, lions live longer, and science shows us that older, mature lions are less likely to engage in conflict with humans.

• Over the past five years, state reports show the average age of lions killed for sport has dropped significantly, while the number of females killed has risen remarkably. See tooth data by clicking here. This indicates Colorado is running out of its large trophy males to kill. Large males establish territories and keep the balance of nature. When you remove the large males by trophy hunting as we are doing, you open up these territories for juveniles who are less skilled to prey on elk and deer, and are more likely to have conflict with domestic animals and humans, studies show.

• Last season, about 900 bobcats were baited, trapped, and skinned for selling their pelts to the luxury fur market that still exists in China and Russia. This is called the commercialization of our wildlife, which goes against all ethics of how we should treat our wildlife today.

• Colorado has no idea how many bobcats exist in our state. Fur trappers are allowed to set out traps indiscriminately and kill as many bobcats as they like every season. Bobcats are inhumanely left up to 24 hours in brutal cold and intense heat, in baited traps, before being bludgeoned to death for the price of their pelt in China and Russia. Kittens are orphaned in fur-trapping for profit.

*CATs volunteers include citizens from these cities and counties of Colorado:

• Adams County—Aurora, Commerce City, Brighton, Westminster, Thornton
• Alamosa County — Alamosa
• Arapahoe County—Littleton, Englewood, Centennial, Strasburg
• Archuleta County—Pagosa Springs
• Boulder County—Boulder, Superior, Louisville, Lafayette, Niwot,
• Nederland
• Broomfield County-- Broomfield
• Chaffee County—Buena Vista
• Clear Creek County—Dumont, Evergreen
• Conejos County—Sanford
• Custer County-- Westcliffe
• Delta County—Crawford, Austin, Delta, Olathe
• Denver County-- Denver
• Douglas County—Parker, Highlands Ranch, Castle Pines, Sedalia, Lone Tree, Franktown, Larkspur
• Eagle County—Vail, Edwards, Gypsum
• El Paso County—Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Peyton, Fountain, Ramah
• Elbert County – Elbert
• Fremont County — Florence
• Garfield County—Rifle, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, New Castle
• Gilpin County—Black Hawk
• Grand County—Granby, Grand Lake
• Gunnison County – Somerset
• Hinsdale County – Pagosa Springs
• Jefferson County—Evergreen, Pine, Morrison, Indian Hills, Golden, Conifer, Westminster, Arvada
• Kit Carson County – Bethune
• La Plata County—Durango, Mancos
• Lake County—Leadville
• Larimer County—Estes Park, Fort Collins, Timnath, LaPorte, Loveland, Wellington
• Lincoln County -- Limon
• Logan County – Florence, Sterling
• Mesa County— Fruita, Grand Junction, Palisade
• Montezuma County – Mancos, Cortez
• Montrose County – Montrose, Olathe
• Morgan County – Fort Morgan, Brush
• Otero County — Rocky Ford
• Ouray County —Ridgway
• Park County – Fairplay, Bailey, Shawnee, Evergreen
• Pitkin County—Redstone, Aspen, Snowmass Village, Basalt
• Pueblo County – Pueblo, Rye
• Rio Blanco County—Rifle
• Routt County—Steamboat
• Saguache County—Crestone
• San Juan County – Durango, Ophir
• San Miguel County – Norwood, Telluride Placerville, Mountain Village, Ophir
• Summit County—Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Dillon
• Teller County—Woodland Park, Florissant, Divide
• Weld County—Erie, Longmont, Dacono, Berthoud, Greeley, Keenesburg, Frederick, Johnstown

ABOUT
Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs) is a broad and diverse coalition of Coloradans that includes nearly 100 wildlife and other organizations endorsing a November ballot measure to stop the cruel and inhumane trophy hunting of mountain lions and the commercial fur-trapping of bobcats in Colorado.

CATs believes that trophy hunting of mountain lions and bobcats is cruel and unsporting — a highly commercial, high-tech head-hunting exercise that doesn’t produce edible meat or sound wildlife management outcomes, but only orphaned cubs and social chaos among the surviving big cats.

Julie Marshall
Cats Aren't Trophies
+1 720-255-9831
email us here