http://www.azcentral.com/story...s-arizona/706604001/


Group wants to ban hunting of bobcats, other big cats in Arizona

Dustin Gardiner, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 7:30 p.m. MT Sept. 26, 2017 | Updated 8:11 p.m. MT Sept. 26, 2017



An animal-welfare group wants Arizona voters to put an end to sport hunting of mountain lions, bobcats and other big cats that roam the state.

Arizonans for Wildlife filed paperwork Monday to collect signatures for a ballot initiative that would outlaw the hunting or trapping of wild cats. The group says it wants to stop trophy hunting, in which cats are killed only for their head or fur.

To get the issue on the November 2018 ballot, the group must collect at least 150,642 valid signatures by July 5.

Kellye Pinkleton, campaign director for Arizonans for Wildlife, said hunters are cruelly killing wild cats for sport, not for their meat. She said the initiative also would end the use of steel-jawed traps, dog packs and other cat-hunting methods.

"It really is for their heads or to be stuffed," she said. "It is simply a trophy."

Pinkleton, who is the Arizona director for the Humane Society of the United States, said the initiative is supported by groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, the Arizona Animal Welfare League and the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter.


Hunters balk at idea

The initiative faces opposition from hunters and others who say the state's mountain lion population isn't endangered and is safely regulated by the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Jim Unmacht, executive director of Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation, said he believes activists who want to eliminate hunting altogether are largely funding the initiative.

Unmacht said Arizona's mountain lion population is rebounding and two other species listed by initiative supporters — jaguars and ocelots — are already endangered species protected under federal law.

“They’re trying to find a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist," he said. “We are going to mobilize and do what we can do to fight it."



While the proposed initiative would generally ban the killing of wild cats, it would include exceptions for people who kill wild cats that "threaten personal safety, property or livestock."

Pinkleton said the initiative targets only trophy hunting of wild cats and would not impact of the hunting of other big game, such as deer and elk, for subsistence. She said there is strong public sentiment opposing hunting cats for sport.

“I don’t think people have the stomach for trophy hunting," Pinkleton said.

This is how it begins.
The anti hunting groups have a plan, an agenda and ultimately will try to ban all hunting one piece at a time, we as hunters are not organized in any fashion to defend our sport. Even if you don't care about cat hunting or have no interest in it you must defend all of our hunting from these movements.
For example in Colorado about 20 years ago the anti hunters got the spring Bear hunt, hunting with dogs and bear baiting put on the general ballot for a vote and we lost our Spring bear hunts, dog hunts for bears and bear baiting.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife was not allowed to comment on the ballot measure even though we had sound Bear management in place. The anti's ran TV commercials showing 10 pound baby bears saying "if you don't want these bears killed then vote no on ballot measure bla bla bla."
Hunters had no organization, no advocate, no voice at all and we lost our spring bear hunt.
Now hunters license dollars are used to relocate bears, have bears trapped, killed etc. when we should be selling bear licenses and hunting more bears.

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For example in Colorado about 20 years ago the anti hunters got the spring Bear hunt, hunting with dogs and bear baiting put on the general ballot for a vote and we lost our Spring bear hunts, dog hunts for bears and bear baiting.

They had just passed it in 1992, the first year I hunted Elk in Colorado, and it is something that is going to keep eating at hunting like a cancer and due to the anti's organization/funding and zeal, they are going to keep on winning the battles.

Sad outlook for the future of hunting.

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Originally posted by Kathi:
a ballot initiative

This is how they are going to get it done. We need to press to have laws put in place that will leave wildlife management up to the proper authorities and keep these decisions out of the hands of soccer moms.

The message we need to POUND into everyone is that no one needs to kill an animal to eat it, but nearly everyone does or pays someone else to do it for them. People eat meat purely for their own pleasure. Now that we have established that, how is trophy hunting any different?

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Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
The message we need to POUND into everyone is that no one needs to kill an animal to eat it, but nearly everyone does or pays someone else to do it for them. People eat meat purely for their own pleasure.

I agree with that 100%. It is amazing that so many people don't equate the meat they eat every day with the death it took to obtain it. I have often used this argument to open peoples minds to the idea that hunting is "OK".

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Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:Now that we have established that, how is trophy hunting any different?

That is going to be a harder sell.

I keep pointing this out, but how many hunters have noticed, that a skull mount with antlers attached, Does Not stir the same reaction as a mounted head does.

Sadly we in AZ are in trouble with this one. In 1994 we lost trapping in a similar case. Even worse I knew outdoorsmen that voted to ban trapping. Their thought was they aren't coming for "us" and trapping isn't really necessary. Now some of those same people complain about our low deer density/fawn recruitment. Let's hope with the use of social media we can get sportsmen together on this one and defeat it. I can see many people throwing hound hunters under the bus on this one like they did the trappers. If they can't get an outright ban then hound hunting will be the first step. So much misinformation on the internet already. We can't legally trap any wildcats in AZ, saying nobody eats cats (I happen to enjoy lion), and claiming this will protect jaguars and ocelots (which are already protected). No need to let facts get in the way....

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I can see many people throwing hound hunters under the bus on this one like they did the trappers.

That is an all too common scenario among hunters.