Academy Award-winning Robert Redford, Jane Goodall, Politicians Tom Tancredo, Mark Udall Endorse Proposition 127 CATs

Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum, legendary actor and scientist endorse call to stop cruel killing of native cats for heads and coats

GRAND LAKE, CO, UNITED STATES, September 12, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Native wild cats picked up support from two Colorado politicians known to occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum and two legends in their fields known from one end of the world to the other. Robert Redford and Dr. Jane Goodall endorsed Prop 127, as did two high-profile political personas who represented Colorado in Congress — former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican, and former U.S. Rep. and former U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat.

"Preserving the natural balance of Colorado's wilderness means respecting all its inhabitants,” said Robert Redford, one of the best-known and most acclaimed actors of the last century. “Mountain lions and bobcats are vital to the ecosystem, and their lives should not be reduced to trophies or pelts. Banning trophy hunting and fur trapping is not just about protecting these magnificent creatures — it's about safeguarding the integrity of our natural world for future generations.”

Redford worked at The Sink on University Hill, where a painting of his likeness figures prominently among the murals. Both his children attended CU-Boulder, as did he.

“These magnificent animals are sentient beings and like us can feel happy, sad, nervous and fearful. This means they can suffer mentally as well as physically. They are not out there to be shot for trophies or to make money,” stated Dr. Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, a UN Messenger of Peace who is world renowned for her landmark and groundbreaking work for wildlife conservation.

“I led efforts in Congress to combat animal fighting, and I don’t like the idea of the open-air fights that result when packs of dogs corner or overtake a lion or bobcat,” observed Congressman Tom Tancredo, a conservative Republican who served in the U.S. House for a decade. “Nor do I like the unsporting nature of shooting a lion or a bobcat out of a tree for a trophy or strangling a bobcat in a trap to take the fur and send it to China. I far prefer that Colorado Parks and Wildlife handle wildlife management matters, but Coloradans have petitioned the Colorado Wildlife Commission and appealed to the General Assembly to enact these popular reforms and have been turned away. The ballot initiative should be used very sparingly, but this to me is a proper application of this constitutional option given that other channels of decision-making have been exhausted. I recommend my fellow Coloradans to join me in voting YES to combat cruelty to animals.”

“As a Coloradan, avid outdoorsman and someone who has a proven track record of working to protect our state’s magnificent healthy landscapes and wildlife within, I am pleased to support Prop 127,” noted former U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, who also served several terms in the U.S. House. “This measure conserves our ecologically valuable apex feline predators, by protecting both lions and bobcats from commercial trophy hunting. The sole purpose of such hunting is to sell the heads and fur of these remarkable and inspiring animals for selfish profit. There have been no legitimate reasons to continue the commercial killing of cats and lions for many decades. Now is the time to enshrine that undeniable truth into law.”

Prop 127 qualified for the ballot after 900 volunteers worked hard to gather the bulk of the 188,000 signatures amassed in support of it.

“We are honored to have Dr. Jane Goodall and Robert Redford, known to billions of people throughout the world, endorse Prop 127,” said Sam Miller, campaign manager for Proposition 127, Cats Aren’t Trophies. “And Congressman Tancredo and Sen. Udall may have diverging views on matters with a range of economic and social issues, but they are united in opposing cruel and unsporting treatment of wild animals who deliver balance to nature and enhance our environment.”

About Proposition 127, Cats Aren’t Trophies:
Proposition 127, Cats Aren’t Trophies (CATs) is a broad and diverse coalition of Coloradans that includes nearly 100 wildlife and other organizations endorsing a November ballot measure to stop the cruel and inhumane trophy hunting of mountain lions and the commercial fur-trapping of bobcats in Colorado.

CATs believes that trophy hunting of mountain lions and bobcats is cruel and unsporting — a highly commercial, high-tech head-hunting exercise that doesn’t produce edible meat or sound wildlife management outcomes, but only orphaned cubs and social chaos among the surviving big cats.

Julie Marshall
Center for a Humane Economy
+1 720-255-9831
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