DENVER— In response to advocacy from the Center for Biological Diversity, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission on July 16 approved a daily bag limit of two animals for 17 species killed for their fur.

The vote notches a victory for Colorado wildlife like pine martens and foxes who, up until this point, could be trapped or hunted in unlimited numbers.

“The commission chose conservation over unlimited commercial exploitation and Colorado’s wildlife will be much better off for it,” said Samantha Miller, a senior carnivore campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Reasonable bag limits are a basic wildlife management tool, and this vote brings Colorado’s furbearer management closer to the standards applied to nearly every other game species.”

In a separate vote on July 17, however, the commission voted against a petition brought by the Center that sought to extend the same protections to furbearing animals as those enjoyed by big game species in Colorado.

In contrast to the protections given to game animals like elk, Colorado Parks and Wildlife currently allows the for-profit sales of all species classified as furbearers, which can be trapped, killed and sold. This includes beavers, ringtails, red foxes, pine martens and bobcats, as well as swift foxes, an imperiled species of special concern in the state.

“The bag limit is a big step forward, but there’s more work to do to protect Colorado’s shared wildlife,” said Miller. “Colorado doesn’t require basic reporting on pine martens, ringtails, foxes and other animals, and we’ll be advocating for the state to address clear data gaps demonstrated by staff at the commission meeting.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is expected to post an updated brochure for hunting and trapping furbearers in coming months.