Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission Caps Fur-Bearer Kills at 2 Per Day
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission voted on July 18, 2026, to limit trappers to two fur-bearing animals per species per day. The cap applies to species including mink, bobcat, and coyote and removes what had been an unlimited kill allowance under state rules.
The commission’s vote went against its own staff’s recommendation. CPW Director Laura Clellan had proposed a daily limit of four to 15 animals depending on the species. Commissioners chose the stricter number, citing public pressure and what they called the need to maintain “social acceptance” of hunting and trapping.
“[T]here is no biological need for bag limits.”
Laura Clellan, Director, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, July 18, 2026
Clellan’s statement clarifies what drove the decision. This was not a response to a collapsing population. Commissioners wanted to prevent a small number of trappers from taking so many animals in one area that other trappers or wildlife viewers would stop encountering fur-bearers in that habitat.
Commission Rejected a Full Fur Sales Ban
Animal advocacy groups had pushed further. A petition before the commission called for a ban on the commercial sale of fur in Colorado. The commission voted to end all discussion of that petition, leaving the fur trade untouched.
The split outcome reflects a policy standoff. Conservation groups secured tighter kill limits. Pro-hunting and trapping groups preserved the commercial market. Neither side got everything it wanted from the July vote.
Colorado’s Trapping Data Has a Reporting Gap
One complication in this debate is that Colorado has no statewide requirement for hunters or trappers to report how many fur-bearing animals they kill. Bobcat is the only exception. Some commissioners said they were skeptical of CPW’s overall furbearer harvest figures because of this gap.
CPW has conducted population projections and fur harvester counts, but the absence of mandatory reporting for most species limits precision. The commission’s decision to set limits despite acknowledging data uncertainty is itself a policy statement: when in doubt, cap the take.
Colorado voters set an earlier baseline. Amendment 14, passed in 1996, banned leghold traps, body-gripping traps, snares, and poisons. CPW says that ban substantially reduced furbearer kills over the past 30 years, even without bag limits in place.
What You Can Do Now
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Contact the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission by emailing dfw_cpw_commission@state.co.us and ask them to require mandatory kill reporting for all fur-bearing species, not just bobcats. Without that data, future limit decisions rest on incomplete counts.
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Call your Colorado state legislator at (303) 866-2904 (the state Capitol switchboard) and ask them to introduce a mandatory furbearer harvest reporting bill. Name the gap: trappers currently have no legal obligation to report mink, coyote, or other kills.
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Submit a public comment to CPW before the commission’s next monthly meeting. Find the comment portal and upcoming agenda at cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/Commission.aspx. Request the commission revisit the fur sales petition with a formal public hearing rather than closing discussion.
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Contact the Humane Society of the Rockies or Colorado Voters for Animals for updated organizing around the fur sales ban. Ask specifically what the next legislative or ballot avenue is, and what volunteer or testimony roles are open.
Sources
Colorado Sun: Wildlife Commission Reduces Fur-Bearer Kill Limits, Rejects Fur Sales Ban Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Commission Overview and Meeting Schedule Colorado General Assembly: Amendment 14 Full Text, Article XVIII