͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. If you’d like to unsubscribe, click here. [[link removed]]

​[link removed] [[link removed]]
Dear friends,
Among the most influential voices urging a “Yes” vote on Prop 127 in Colorado is Dan Ashe. He is a lifelong hunter, and most importantly in a debate that deals with wildlife policy, he is a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2010-2016) and a career wildlife professional who was director of the nation’s 573-unit national wildlife refuge system — the most extensive network of protected lands anywhere in the world.
He endorsed the ballot measure in September with a column that’s been widely published [[link removed]] in the state.
This week, he engaged in a conversation with Animal Wellness Podcast host Joseph Grove about Prop 127, and he addresses arguments from critics of the ballot measure that Mr. Grove tossed his way. It’s an important conversation for anyone interested in wildlife policy in America. You can listen to the full episode here. [[link removed]]
As a top wildlife management professional, Dan is in strong company in endorsing the measure. Twenty-two other wildlife scientists signed a letter [[link removed]] underscoring that lions self-regulate their populations and that they bring beneficial services, including acting as a xxxxxx against the deadly and incurable Chronic Wasting Disease now afflicting deer and elk in Colorado.
USDA infectious disease specialist and veterinarian Jim Keen, DVM, PhD, has written two reports relevant to the campaign:
1.
The
first
one
[[link removed]]
reviews
the
literature
to
underscore
that
lion
populations
are
self-regulating
and
that
trophy
hunting
may
change
the
social
and
age
structure
of
populations
and
create
more
human-lion
conflicts,
and
2.
3.
The
second
report
[[link removed]]
underscores
that
mountain
lions
selectively
remove
deer
and
elk
infected
with
Chronic
Wasting
Disease
(CWD).
Where
there
are
lions,
there
is
little
or
no
CWD
in
cervids;
where
there
are
no
lions
CWD
is
spreading
with
deadly
effects.
Colonel Tom Pool, DVM, MPH, and former commander of the U.S. Army Veterinary Command, has publicly stated “we need every mountain lion there is to fight this deadly disease and to allow Colorado to maintain viable deer and elk herds in the decades ahead.”
Add in a letter from 119 Colorado veterinarians who note that hounding with tracking equipment and trapping with bait violates animal welfare science. “Hound hunting involves packs of dogs chasing mountain lions and bobcats over long distances, causing severe stress, exhaustion, and injuries for both the wild animals and the dogs involved,” said Dr. Christine Capaldo, DVM, of the Animal Hospital of Telluride, one of the signatories.
Journalist Ted Williams, one of the nation’s most decorated outdoors writers and a former state fish and game employee, has written in favor of Prop 127 several times, including a column [[link removed]] detailing how California has maintained a stable population of lions in the absence of any trophy hunting of lions for more than a half century.
Even though California has six times as many people as Colorado, it killed one-sixth of the number of lions in damage control operations. (Colorado kills about 60 lions a year for conflict management — that mortality is in addition to the 500 lions shot by trophy hunters — while California kills an average of 9 a year.)
Today, take your time to further educate yourself on the issues. These wildlife professionals, infectious disease experts, and veterinarians have valuable things to say about our treatment of wildlife. The lessons apply everywhere even as one state makes a consequential judgment about the future of wildlife in the national election upon us.
And please share some of this content with Colorado voters you know. You might start by sending the Animal Wellness Podcast featuring the interview with Dan Ashe. [[link removed]]
Finally, please consider donating to Animal Wellness Action so we can continue to lead on wildlife policy in the United States.
Mountain lions and bobcats deserve protection from cruelty in their own right. But when there is a keener understanding of the ecosystem services they deliver — balancing nature and bringing hundreds of millions in economic value to states — you’ll see the multi-dimensional case for ending American trophy hunting and commercial trapping of lions and bobcats.
For the native cats and all animals,
Wayne Pacelle [[link removed]] Wayne Pacelle
President
Animal Wellness Action
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