Dear TrapFree NM Friends,
The 60-day legislative session has now come to a close and we know you want to know what happened to HB 366, Roxy’s Law, to ban traps and poisons from NM public lands. We regret that it did not pass, and that news is as disappointing for us to relay as we know it is to hear. HB 366 wasn’t the only good wildlife protection bill that did not pass. Changing the status quo is very difficult. But please read on!
This bill had never gotten out of committee before. This time, it passed not only one, but two committees, going all the way to the House floor. And every single action taken by every one of you helped to get this bill as far as it got! Your phone calls, emails, and attendance at committee hearings made this bill one of the most newsworthy issues of the legislative session. Thank you!
Once it got to the full House, TrapFree New Mexico lobbyists and advocates like you put hours more work into securing positions on the bill from all of NM’s 70 State Representatives. But we eventually realized that the vote count was too close and too shaky for the bill to move forward. It wasn’t clear we could win, and we did not want fence-sitting representatives to be on record with a ‘no’ vote when we think, with some more time, we can work to gain their support. Because of the lobbying work we’ve done, we now know exactly which legislators and House districts we need to work on for the next go-round, even without a vote taking place. We never knew this before!
And there will be a next go-round! The fight to stop dangerous, cruel, commercialized, recreational trapping on New Mexico’s public lands is feeling very similar to the effort to end cockfighting, which took SEVENTEEN YEARS. We are now seven years into the trapping bill and hope it won’t take that long. Once the needle starts moving (and it has now, thanks to you), it always keeps moving. So take heart.
TrapFree New Mexico will NEVER give up, and we’ll need all of you going forward to be there, too. Thank you for all you did and don’t for a minute think it was wasted. It was incredible to get the bill this far. We will continue to build on this momentum as long as it takes!
Onward in solidarity on behalf of the entire TrapFree New Mexico team,
Jessica Johnson, Animal Protection Voters
Mary Katherine Ray, Rio Grande Chapter Sierra Club
Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians
PS: Here’s one more helpful action you can take right now. Please send a quick email to thank the bill sponsors and all of the representatives who are on record voting to pass Roxy’s law in committee. Let them know that their commitment to compassion, to public safety, and to ending the suffering and exploitation of wildlife on public land is so appreciated. We will need their support next time too.
Here is their contact information:
Sponsors:
Matthew McQueen
Christine Chandler
Bobby Gonzales
Committee yes votes:
Abbas Akhil
Gail Chasey
Joanne Ferrary
Daymon Ely
Brian Egolf
Dayan Hochman-Vigil
Georgene Louis
Andrea Romero
Angelica Rubio
Debra Sarinaña
Nathan Small
Melanie Stansbury