Colorado places new restrictions on mountain lion hunting as effort to ban killing the big cats continues

Colorado no longer will allow hunters to use electronic devices to lure mountain lions to them after state wildlife leaders voted this week to ban artificial calls. The Commission voted unanimously Thursday to ban electronic calls — criticized by some as giving hunters an unfair advantage — and to put an end to the state’s April mountain lion hunting season.

Hunters use electronic calls to play recordings of other lions or distressed prey, luring the carnivores to an area. Both electronic calls and the April hunting season were legal in only some parts of the state before the commission’s vote. Hunters with a license still will be able to hunt mountain lions in Colorado from November through March.

The decision comes as mountain lion advocates push two potential ballot measures. One would . The other would limit hunting of the felines by prohibiting the use of dogs or traps as well as shortening the hunting season to two weeks. Over the last decade, hunters have legally killed around 500 mountain lions a year — below the harvest limits set by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The state’s limits change year to year, but in recent years they have hovered around 650. It’s difficult to determine how many mountain lions live in Colorado because of their elusive nature and wide ranging habits, but wildlife officials estimate their numbers at between 3,000 and 7,000. Mark Vieira, CPW’s carnivore and furbearer program manager, told commissioners that Colorado’s mountain lion population is stable and healthy.

It is possible to allow hunting of lions and maintain a healthy population, he said. “These two conditions are not mutually exclusive,” Vieira said..