Contact: Ellary TuckerWilliams, Rocky Mountain States Senior Coordinator
Highlights
Why it Matters: The most recent petition by the Humane Society of United States (HSUS) to ban all trapping on public and private land in Colorado was denied unanimously by the Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission). This long-standing, anti-trapping effort in the state is hyper-focused on one thing: banning all use of traps regardless of crystal-clear scientific data that demonstrates the necessity of having trapping as a selective, sustainable and humane wildlife management tool. The attacks on science-based wildlife management and our outdoor sporting heritage will not stop with trapping. As a community of sportsmen and women, it is imperative that we rally together because it’s not a matter of “if” the opposition comes for other outdoor pursuits, it’s “when.”
In 1996, Colorado residents voted to support Initiative 14, which approved a constitutional amendment to prohibit the use of “leghold traps, instant-kill body-gripping design traps, poisons or snares” in the state. Several exceptions were made for depredation on private lands and certain governmental entities to protect human health or safety or to manage fish or other non-mammalian wildlife. Shortly after Initiative 14 passed and became Colorado State Continual Amendment 14 (Amendment 14), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) amended its furbearer and trapping regulations accordingly. In doing so, the use of cage/box traps, also known as live traps, was still allowed in the state.
Fast forward to 2021, HSUS filed yet another misinformed petition with the Commission, claiming that CPW was not abiding by Amendment 14 because of the allowance for cage traps. During the Commission hearing, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office testified in disagreement with the claim outlined in the petition. The Attorney General’s Office stated that CPW’s current regulations are in compliance with Amendment 14, which did not outlaw trapping, but rather prohibited various methods of take related to trapping. Furthermore, CPW issued a statement, recommending that the Commission deny the petition based on four key points:
After excellent expert testimony, public comment, and a detailed Q&A period, the Commission voted unanimously to deny HSUS’s petition to ban all trapping in the state of Colorado. The Commission took a strong stance in support of science-based wildlife management and the sportsmen and women who continue to interact with wildlife in a sustainable way.
During this effort, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation joined 50 other organizations on a letter in strong opposition of the trapping ban petition. The coalition sets a wonderful example of how powerful the outdoor sporting community can be when we band together to protect science-based wildlife management and our collective outdoor sporting heritage.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
