A major step forward for furbearers, and for common-sense wildlife management.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission has voted to end unlimited recreational take of the state’s 17 classified furbearer species. Under the new regulation, hunters and trappers will be limited to two animals of each species per day, including beavers, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, martens, mink, muskrats, badgers, raccoons, skunks, weasels, ringtails, and opossums.
This matters because **management without limits is not responsible management.**
Bag limits are among the most basic safeguards available to wildlife agencies.
The logic should apply to all species. An animal should not lose basic protections simply because it has been labeled a “furbearer,” “predator,” or “nuisance.” Beavers build wetlands that store water and create habitat. Coyotes and foxes influence prey populations and food webs. Badgers, bobcats, martens, and other native species each occupy important ecological roles. Their lives and contributions do not become limitless because of a regulatory classification.
Colorado’s own records showed that most hunters and trappers already take only a small number of animals. That means reasonable limits should affect relatively few people while closing a glaring loophole that allowed a small number of individuals to take exceptionally high numbers from one species or area.
Wyoming should take notice. **No native wildlife species should be subjected to unlimited recreational killing.** Establishing science-based, precautionary bag limits for every hunted or trapped species is the bare minimum of accountable wildlife management.
There is more work ahead, but today we celebrate meaningful progress and the growing recognition that furbearers deserve thoughtful, ethical, and transparent management.
Thank you, Center for Biological Diversity.