Local outfitter opposes Proposition 127

Paul “Ozzie” Martin has owned a clothing business in Grand County for nearly 30 years. Martin helps hunters look for cougars. But if Proposition 127—a ban on hunting mountain lions, bobcats and bobcats—passes, Martin’s livelihood will become illegal.

Some proponents of Proposition 127 paint hunters in a depressing light, Martin said.

“All this stuff that’s on TV – I don’t even know how to describe it,” he told Sky-Hi News. “When I see this on TV, I’m just sick of how they portray the hunter as a killer animal.”

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The organization Cats Are Not Trophies is the driving force behind the vote. Other animal rights activists joined the vote. Martin believes hunters and outfitters care more about cougars than some activists.

“They say, ‘Oh, it’s because you make money off of them.’ No, it’s not because I make money. It’s because I love this animal,” he said.

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He said he’s concerned the species could become overpopulated and start dying from disease if Proposition 127 passes.

Outfitters disagree with the term “trophy hunting”

The organization Cats Are Not Trophies argues that mountain lion hunting constitutes “trophy hunting,” which is the removal of the head and skin, including for taxidermy. Some prohibitionists believe that in some cases a hunter should not eat meat.

Colorado’s waste law requires meat to be collected from cougars.

Samantha Miller is a Grand Lake resident and director of the Cats Are Not Trophies campaign. She notes that the phrase “trophy hunting” is not in the Parks and Wildlife Act. Therefore, in her opinion, the department does not prohibit this type of hunting.

Martin disagrees. He says all the hunters he leads collect meat, and they don’t just hunt for the head or pelt.

“It’s one of the most delicious meats,” Martin said. “You take the back end and smoke it… I’m not kidding, I’ve had it on a platter at New Year’s parties and people thought they were eating smoked ham.”

He also doesn’t see any ethical issues with taxidermy.

“People sit on fish, people sit on pets,” Martin explained. “…What they think is trophy hunting is not even close to trophy hunting.”

Martin advises those who want to eat meat should tenderize it first, “because they are a tough muscle machine and all they live on is protein. Their meat is tough but tastes great. It’s white meat.”

Pumas can attack pets

Martin said he hunted lions near Miller’s home in Grand Lake after a cougar killed a dog two winters ago. The area is a popular lion habitat because there are fewer people and accessible prey such as elk. But sometimes lions turn to pets for food.

“People don’t realize how many calls I get a year,” he said. “People call me because their pets were killed by a mountain lion; they actually saw them carrying drugs down the driveway and everything. I tell them: I can’t do anything because it’s not hunting season.”

When pets die, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials take responsibility for euthanasia or relocation.

Miller explained that if Proposition 127 passes, officials would still be able to euthanize cougars that pose a threat to human life and property. She said the agency has “always managed conflict lions, and they will continue to manage conflict lions when this passes.”

She believes that hunting is only for recreational purposes.

“Let’s continue to allow and give (parks and wildlife) the ability to manage cougars during times of conflict and for the health of cougar populations,” Miller said.

Proposition 127 – Based on Wildlife Science or Emotion?

Martin argued that groups trying to get the vote out are relying on voters’ emotions rather than science.

“They’re trying so hard to get it that they’ll do everything they can to make the outfitter or hunter look like they’re a killer, when in fact we love that animal more than they ever will,” he said. .

Martin participated in the 2021 mountain lion study in collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He expressed sympathy for those officials, whose hands he believes will be tied if Proposition 127 passes.

The employees do their jobs, but wildlife management, Martin said, has become politicized due to issues such as wolf reintroduction.

Parks and Wildlife makes decisions about proper management of the species, Martin said, but proponents of the ban are “tugging at the heartstrings.”

Cats Are Not Trophies organizers like Miller believe science is actually on their side.

She said wildlife experts have conducted numerous studies that show there is no environmental benefit to mountain lion hunting and that lions mitigate chronic wasting disease in elk and deer herds.

Miller said opponents of the ban are promoting “common misconceptions and myths about predators rather than the reality of both the measure and what predators do in the wild.”

Both sides believe that science supports their arguments, while the livelihoods of people like Martin are in the hands of voters.

“Honestly, I’m ready to sell my clothing business and move out of Colorado,” he said. “It’s just sad what they’re doing.”