Mr. McGrath didn't answer our questions. Instead he emailed this reply:

I helped to draft the current wildlife ordinance with the input and support of the Rocky Mountain Animal Defense.  The ordinance places a high priority on finding relocation options, and makes lethal control a last resort.  I believe this is appropriate.

I also have been a strong advocate for developing a comprehensive wildlife management strategy.  The reason for drafting a wildlife management strategy is to proactively manage prairie dogs (and conflicts that might arise between humans and other wildlife in urban areas).  Without such a strategy, we are reactive, thus waiting til conflicts arise.  My hope is that by determining what lands are appropriate for prairie dog colonies as well as what lands do we want to protect from prairie dog encroachment, we will be able to avoid future conflicts.  The wildlife management strategy will be completed in the coming months.

We contacted Rocky Mountain Animal Defense (RMAD) to verify the accuracy of Mr. McGrath's statement. Here is RMAD's reply:

Councilman McGrath developed his ordinance language without RMAD’s knowledge. RMAD supported the councilman’s ordinance when it was obvious that council would not pursue the ordinance supported by RMAD. The councilman must certainly know that the ordinance, while perhaps appearing reasonable on paper, is nothing but a death sentence in practice.

RMAD would not have supported the ordinance if we had known that:

• council and staff would be doing virtually nothing to secure additional open space lands for prairie dogs;
• council and staff would kill prairie dogs and other animals on individual colonies before doing a thorough assessment of whether open space could accommodate the animals that would need to be relocated;
• council and staff would give a mere one month’s notice before killing prairie dogs and other animals at city-owned and city-managed sites; and
• poorly maintained barriers would satisfy the ordinance’s requirements for “reasonable attempts to control the situation by non-lethal means”.

What’s more, the ordinance has proven to be overly secretive, even to the point that the conservative Daily Camera joined the advocacy community in calling for its revision. To date, neither Councilman McGrath nor any council member has made any attempt to correct the ordinance’s flaws.