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Colorado SB 22-031 Ban on Bobcat and Lion Hunting

Skunk_Sheriff

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Yet again Colorado politicians are pushing us closer to being just like California. As recently as 2019 animal rights groups have pushed for the end of bobcat harvest in the state through a citizen petition of the wildlife commission, their petition was denied. Now they have their pocket politicians doing the same thing through the state senate. SB 22-031 was introduced today, the first day of the 2022 legislative session, and all four sponsors of the bill represent areas in the Denver/Front Range area. Here is the link for the bill:


Essentially the bill, if passed, will halt all take of Bobcats, Mountain Lions, and Lynx (not that they are legally being harvested now but they were included). I expect that this will be getting a lot more attention in the coming weeks but if you care about hunting in Colorado at all, not just Bobcat and Mountain lion, please make your voice heard. This is just another step in the anti's attack on hunting as a whole and we need to hinder them at every step we can.

I will post any important info on this bill here as I find it.
 
Emails sent and calls made to the sponsors and my local reps. Recommend everyone do the same.

BHA also has a link to take action below:
Thanks for the Link, I hope all hunttalkers take a minute to do this.
 
Kerry Donovan is the chair of the committee that will be discussing this bill. Her 'capitol' phone: 303-866-4871

As wllm pointed out, be polite, tell her (or her staff, voicemail) that you are a hunter and how you are concerned about this bill dismantling science-based wildlife management under the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.

If you live in her district, mention that too.
District 5 Counties: Chaffee, Delta, Eagle, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Lake, Pitkin
 
i've sent my e-mail to the sponsors of the bill. i will be working on a similar e-mail to the committee.

one of my main points was that if there is a valid concern about this species viability into the future then this problem needs to be presented to our wildlife commission to take action. it is not a question for lawmakers, it is a question for our commission. i made clear the commission has every tool in the toolbox to address the issue if there is one (being my implied point that there isn't one)

i feel this point should be made clear to the committee as well.

i did point out that lynx being included on this bill makes no sense and seems to make clear the intentions of the bill. intentions which i staunchly disagree with and feel directly undermine our effective model of wildlife conservation.
 
The best thing would be to vote Kerry Donovan and the rest of these bums out but alas that won’t happen.
 
i suspect this bill won't make it out of committee. i just don't think that kerry donovan has the sort of mindset about these things that the bill sponsors do, two of the other committee members will just be downright opposed. i don't know much about rhonda fields but her district isn't as whack as some out there. so to me this most likley really only leaves sonya lewis in the hot seat here and will probably quickly have to be on the defensive.

regardless, hammer all of them with e-mails
 
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Kerry Donovan is the chair of the committee that will be discussing this bill. Her 'capitol' phone: 303-866-4871

As wllm pointed out, be polite, tell her (or her staff, voicemail) that you are a hunter and how you are concerned about this bill dismantling science-based wildlife management under the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.

If you live in her district, mention that too.
District 5 Counties: Chaffee, Delta, Eagle, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Lake, Pitkin
I called her as well she’s the senator the the district I grew up in.

I believe per @Ben Lamb that messages are basically tallied, and bucketed for/against by staffers. Lots of issues get zero messages so if a ton of people leave messages that say, “Hey this is a really bad bill” it could have some effect.
 
Agreed. This is unlikely to make it out of committee.

Regardless, I hammered Sen. Ginal's phone yesterday and finally got a call back. We chatted for about 10 minutes. Although she didn't make a commitment to pull support for the bill she expressed concerns. It felt like an honest conversation. She's feeling the pressure but she's also a politician.

While I'm sure that calls and emails from everything are being noticed, being an actual constituent carries far more weight. Angry partisans from outside the district aren't going to help much, IMO.
 
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I ponder continually, where’s the line? Science vs. voter opinion? This applies in so many situations. Am I resting my stance in emotion and opinion or facts?

It is a really challenging question, and something we have to consider. It pushes me hard to not talk so much about how much I love hunting with people that have different views. I try to be highly informed and stick to the science.

It reminds me of the current Washington spring bear hunt.

If we get down in the mud we’re just another pig.
 
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