Last week, the San Miguel Basin Forum ran a story on Prop. 127, on the ballot for Nov. 5. A “yes” on Prop. 127 supports making mountain lion hunting illegal, and a “no” opposes that. Last week’s story interviewed Dr. Christine Capaldo, DVM, a veterinarian for the Animal Hospital of Telluride who’s vehemently opposed to mountain lion hunting. She’s been instrumental in getting the proposition on the ballot.
Capaldo told the Forum she feels lion hunting is unethical, “because it is primarily done for the trophy.” She said wealthy people come from out of state, pay guides, and go out with packs of dogs. She said they pay $8,000 to $12,000 for a “trophy,” and she compares it to African safaris and cuttings tusks off elephants.
“It’s commercialization of our native wildlife, and it goes against the basic principles of the North American model of wildlife conservation,” she said.
Her opinion is the the hunting of mountain lions is cruel.
On the other side, Ty Sickels, an outfitter in Nucla, responded to some of Capaldo’s points. Sickels said the act of “trophy hunting” is illegal.
“It’s a legal requirement to take all edible portions,” he said. “It’s part of checking in with the biologists after you harvest. You have to prove you took all edible portions of meat. That’s a false claim to say mountain lion is trophy hunting.”
The Forum asked Sickels if he does indeed eat lion meat. He said the vast majority of hunters do and his family does. He said they fry it or cook it in green chili, since it’s a lean, white mean.
Regarding Capaldo’s statement that dogs create stress for wildlife, Sickles said hounds are effective in hunting and studying big cats. His opinion is they don’t over-stress the wildlife, and some mountain lions fall asleep when treed.
Capaldo said recreational hunters in Colorado killed 502 mountain lions last year, and none were in conflict. She said recreational hunting of unoffending mountain lions is like shooting into a crowd for crime control and expecting it to work, but it doesn’t.
In response, Sickels said hunting mountain lions make predators less likely to interact with humans. He said they learn to retreat from human voices and dogs, rather than enter into the same shared space.
Capaldo said it’s upsetting to learn of females being killed and orphaning their young. She said orphans then can’t acquire their own hunting knowledge.
“When the females are killed, the orphans are left to fend for themselves and are more likely to try to get into a chicken coop. Although, if they are under three months of age, and still in the den, they will perish in the den,” she said.
Sickels told the Forum it’s illegal to kill a female that has kittens with her or who appears to be nursing. He added that’s a benefit of hunting with hounds. He said when hunters tree a mother who demonstrates kittens or nursing, they won’t harvest that animal.
Sickels said he also wants the public to know that mountain lion season is the most regulated, different than deer or elk. He said you have to report takes to the wildlife management area, and mountain lions are required to be checked in.
He said geographical coordinates are given, along with age and sex of harvest. He said biologists analyze populations and will shut down a season as they see fit, when numbers are met, creating balance.
Capaldo said it was important to look at California, which hasn’t had lion hunting since the 1970s. According to her, California has the third-lowest lion-human conflict per capita. She said only 15 were killed last year, due to conflicts with livestock.
In response, Sickels said two humans were recently attacked by mountain lions in California. He said a lack of hunting makes for lions becoming more accustomed to humans. He said California has had about 25 attacks since the 1990s.
The Forum did verify through California Fish and Wildlife that 24 have occurred since 1992.
He added California uses tax-payer money to regulate populations through lethal take, rather than letting hunters do it.
Sickels said wildlife management in Colorado is a success story. He said mountain lion populations had been decimated, and now nearly 4,500 roam Colorado. He said when predators are not managed, elk and deer suffer. He’s also worried that any ban on hunting will lead to the end of hunting in the future.