As locals, we disagree with Jerry Apker’s piece in our paper.
We will vote "yes“ on Proposition 127.
He will not dictate what our values are as rural Coloradans.
His piece had no science that wild cat killing, or bobcat fur trapping is managing one thing. It’s a recreational choice.
We support ethical hunting; this is not it. Fur trappers use cat food as bait then cruelly kill our cats – 965 in 2023, to sell their fur at auction.
Some say shoot ’em in the eye, angled down to avoid blood splatter that ruins the Chinese price for fur coats. Copper pipe with a brass elbow to crack a skull open is popular. Drowning has been used in Colorado, because “a wet hide can make the fur slip.” Large cable ties around the neck pulled tight suffocates the cat that suffers for 3 minutes, veterinarians say. Or shoot through the ear hole.
Jerry was on the wrong side when Colorado voted to stop baiting, hounding and orphaning bear cubs.
A "yes“ protects dogs from trophy hunting guides paid $8,500 to send out dog packs to contain any mountain lion in a tree. Some dogs get hurt, and have even been abandoned. It’s why 119 Colorado veterinarians vote "yes.”
"Yes“ to Prop 127 includes outspoken CPW commissioners, dozens of the best mountain lion and bobcat scientists – researchers in the field, and the only commissioner with a Ph.D. in biology. Yes appreciates apex predators serving health and balance of nature.
Margaret Gillatt and Leslie Batchelor
Durango
