But the way the trial and verdict has been framed is a disservice to the effort to ban cruel traps, snares and poisons across New Mexico’s public lands.

Several media outlets described Roxy’s tragic death as the impetus for passage of the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, which came to be called “Roxy’s Law.” It is true that Roxy became emblematic of the indiscriminate killing and danger that traps pose on public lands. However, the effort to ban traps from New Mexico public lands had been in the making for years before Roxy was killed.

It was the outcome of tens of thousands of New Mexicans coming to terms with the problems inherent with trapping and working hard to create a new paradigm for wildlife and hikers, hunters, campers and other users of public lands in the Land of Enchantment.

Taking Marty Cordova’s claim that he is a “scapegoat” at face value disregards all of the other pets who have been killed or injured in traps in New Mexico: Ophie, Murphy, Buster, Maxi, Strawberry, Ceniza, Tooli, Nelli, Cruzer, Ivy, Mahlia, Jessie, Joe, Sabina, Kutchin, Jetta, Zero, Toby, Pepper, Bo, Lulu, Ben Funbeast, Sammy, Jaky, Wiley, Beau, (another) Roxy, Ted, Bailey, Pearl, Noodles, Kekoa, Fibel, Ranger, Hopi, Jesse, Nina, Griz, Robin, Greta, Honey and many others unnamed or unknown.

Doing so also fails to account for at least 150,000 native animals that have been killed by trappers since 2008.

Furthermore, Cordova’s assertion — “Trapping is not bad; it’s a means of conservation, just like hunting deer or fishing” — is false. Trapping is not conservation. It is not like hunting deer or fishing. Trapping is cruel, dangerous and indiscriminate. It drains fragile ecosystems of the native species that keep things in balance. It turns wildlife into a commodity to be slaughtered, skinned, tanned and sold. It is deeply unpopular — New Mexicans oppose trapping by a wide margin.

Trapping was not on trial in the case surrounding Roxy’s death. Cordova was. And that seems to have been lost in the coverage. Cordova got his day in court, as is his right. But he was also given a platform from which to espouse the virtues of trapping and make it seem as though him being found not guilty — due at least in part to evidence being lost and photographs being deleted — means that trapping is redeemed.

The New Mexico lawmakers who decided earlier this year to end cruel trapping and poisoning of wildlife on public lands did so after hearing from activists (including sportsmen), scientists and trapping victims for well over a decade. The Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act will go into effect in April. It will make the outdoors safer and more accessible to visitors, prevent native animals from suffering and dying from these devices on approximately 32 million acres of public lands, and bring New Mexico’s wildlife policies closer into alignment with the best available science and modern ethics of coexistence.

New Mexico citizens and lawmakers have chosen to relegate public lands trapping and poisoning to the history books for myriad good and valid reasons. Roxy is one of those reasons, and her death became a rallying cry for the cause. Cordova’s not guilty verdict does not undo the progress we’ve made.

Chris Smith is the Southwest Wildlife Advocate for WildEarth Guardians.

Read this article in the Santa Fe New Mexican

The post Not guilty verdict aside, Roxy’s Law still matters appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Senate Bill 32, “Roxy’s Law,” was signed into law earlier this year and will ban the use of traps and snares on New Mexico public lands beginning April 1. It was the long, hard work of the TrapFree New Mexico coalition, the genuine leadership of courageous state legislators and the governor’s signature that finally turned this tragedy — and countless others like it — into a positive outcome for the people, pets and wildlife of New Mexico.

Roxy’s Law is a victory for basic decency. There is no reason we should tolerate the killing of our dogs or wildlife. Tradition is no excuse for abuse.

Read this Letter to the Editor in the Santa Fe New Mexican

The post Tradition is no excuse for abuse appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Roxy, an 8-year-old heeler mix, died in 2018 after being strangled by a snare at Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area.

A Chimayó man accused of setting a snare trap that caused the death of a dog named Roxy, which sparked a law outlawing trapping on public lands, has been found not guilty on all charges related to the 2018 incident.

“It’s a sense of relief, obviously,” Marty Cordova said in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s been about three years I’ve had this burden on my shoulders. It feels really good to get this behind me.”

A jury in District Court in Santa Fe deliberated for about six hours over two days before finding Cordova not guilty Wednesday on all counts, defense attorney Yvonne Quintana said in a phone interview Thursday.

Cordova was charged with multiple counts of violating state laws regarding trapping fur-bearing animals, including trapping within 25 yards of a public road, failing to have identifying information on his traps and failing to check his traps daily.

Cordova, 44, found himself in the middle of a heated controversy over wildlife management and originally faced more than 30 criminal counts after Roxy — an 8-year-old heeler mix owned by Dave Clark of Española — was caught in a snare trap near Santa Cruz Lake.

The case subsequently spurred the passage of a new law — the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, also called Roxy’s Law, which takes effect in April. It outlaws trapping on public lands.

Clark declined to comment Thursday.

But he told The New Mexican in 2019 he’d been hiking with Roxy near the lake, a reservoir about 15 miles east of Española, when the dog was caught in the trap.

“She was behind me and running to catch up,” Clark said. “I heard this sound and I turned around. She’d been caught in a snare trap. I couldn’t figure how to get it off. She was strangled while I was trying to remove it.”

As he was carrying his dog back to his truck, he said he heard another noise and found a bobcat caught in another trap. A game warden later euthanized the bobcat, he said.

According to an affidavit for a search warrant, a state Game and Fish Officer said that after removing the trap, he noticed there was no identification on the device, as required by state law. Surveillance cameras eventually captured images of Cordova checking and removing traps in the area.

After identifying him from surveillance camera images, Game and Fish officers served a search warrant on Cordova’s residence, resulting in the seizure of multiple snares and foothold traps that were not properly marked, according to the affidavit.

Quintana said she got the case dismissed at the Magistrate Court level based on challenges to the evidence, but the First Judicial District Attorney’s office filed the case in District Court as an appeal.

Cordova had faced 34 misdemeanor counts of violating laws regarding the trapping of fur-bearers in the Magistrate Court case, court records show.

The number was reduced to 23 counts when it was refiled in District Court, and it had been reduced to 10 counts by the time Cordova’s trial started Monday after more than a dozen counts were dismissed based on problems with evidence.

“It’s unfortunate the Game Department keeps doing this to individuals,” Cordova said. “I was fortunate I had the means to be able to defend myself, but that’s not common with many individuals that get accused of such things, and they have to take a lesser plea or plead guilty.”

“I think it is the right outcome,” Quintana said. “The case was overcharged, and the state and [Game and Fish Department] officers really did a disservice in regards to losing evidence.”

Game and Fish deleted thousands of photographs related to the case, Quintana said, adding other pieces of evidence — such as parts of the trap that snared Roxy — were lost.

While many of the counts against Cordova accused him of not putting identifying information on his traps, Quintana said the state didn’t collect a single trap from the field as evidence and only had traps they’d taken from Cordova’s home.

Quintana also said the dog was not on a leash as required in the Santa Cruz recreation area.

“So while the traps may have been at fault for the loss of the dog, there was also that issue that if the dog had been controlled with a leash, the tragic loss of the domestic pet may never have occurred,” she said.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies disputed Quintana’s contention that the case was overcharged and said some of the evidence had been lost by the Bureau of Land Management during that agency’s investigation.

Carmack-Altwies wrote some of the unmarked traps allegedly belonging to Cordova “were left in the field where Game Cameras were set by BLM and Game and Fish for them to observe and try to identify who was setting these traps.

“However, all traps collected at the Defendant’s home … were presented,” she wrote. “There were 7 foothold traps and 3 snares collected … and none of them had tags at the time. One snare that could have been collected was destroyed because they had to cut it off of Roxy (the dead dog) to remove her body from the scene.”

The District Attorney wrote she felt she had the evidence to prove the charges when the case went to trial, but state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer’s rulings “immediately before and during trial” limited what the jury was able to hear and see.

“The State fought hard for accountability and what the jury did see and hear was heartbreaking testimony and evidence about how Roxy and her owner suffered,” Carmack-Altwies wrote.

Quintana said the case was one of the toughest she’s tried when it came to choosing a jury because of the strong opinions many potential jurors held regarding trapping and animal rights.

Three jury panels had to be vetted before the parties were able to agree on 14 jurors — 12, plus two alternates — to hear the case, she said.

“It was very inflammatory because the dog got killed,” she said, adding potential jurors seemed more “stirred up” about the case than they were about a murder trial for which a jury also was being chosen.

While she’s no fan of trapping, Quintana said the law passed as a result of Roxy’s death “changes a way of life in New Mexico that is traditional, historic and has been practiced for hundreds of years.”

Cordova — a utility manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he’s worked for the past 21 years — said he has a small farm in Chimayó where coyotes and other predators sometimes kill his chickens, and he traps them as a form of population control.

He said activists who pushed for the passage of Roxy’s Law used him to accomplish something that had been on their agenda for some time.

“They used me as a scapegoat to say, ‘Look at how bad sportsmen are, and look at the results of trapping,’ ” he said. “They used my name to pass a law they’d been trying to pass for year and years and they continue to slander my name.

“They were able to convince legislators trapping is bad,” Cordova said. “Trapping is not bad; it’s a means of conservation, just like hunting deer or fishing. But you mention the word trapping or anything, and they hate that. But when Fido or your cat gets stolen from your back yard by a coyote, then they want all the coyotes killed. Sportsmen keep that population in check, but most people don’t understand that and just view us as killers and inhumane, and that is not the case. That’s not who we are.”

Read this article in the Santa Fe New Mexican 

The post Man whose trapping inspired ‘Roxy’s Law’ found not guilty on all counts appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

The death of the dog, named Roxy, attracted widespread media attention and led to passage this year of a state law – “Roxy’s Law” – that outlaws the use of traps, snares and wildlife poison on public lands in New Mexico.

The 1st Judicial District Court jury found Cordova not guilty of trapping within 25 yards of a road and other violations of state Department of Game and Fish trapping regulations, said Yvonne K. Quintana, Cordova’s attorney.

Problems with evidence, including the failure to collect snares and traps from the field, and the destruction of photographic evidence, contributed to Cordova’s acquittal, Quintana said.

“Mr. Cordova was the one accused, but they really couldn’t identify that he was the one who set the traps,” she said. “That’s one of the required elements of these trapping charges, that the trapper has to land-set the traps.”

Jennifer Padgett Macias, 1st Judicial District chief deputy district attorney, said the federal Bureau of Land Management retained and ultimately destroyed some evidence in connection with its own investigation.

“There was some evidence destroyed as it was in the custody of (BLM) when their case was settled,” Padgett Macias said. Traps in BLM custody “were not turned over to the Department of Game and Fish but were destroyed per their policy when a case is resolved.”

The snare involved in Roxy’s death was destroyed when it was cut off the dog’s body, she said.

The Department of Game and Fish initially charged Cordova with 34 counts of illegal trapping in February 2019, three months after a neck snare strangled the dog near a hiking trail at Santa Cruz Lake Recreation Area north of Española.

Roxy, an 8-year-old blue heeler mix, choked to death while her owner, Dave Clark, desperately tried to free her from the snare.

The case drew public attention and prompted lawmakers in 2019 to introduce the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, an anti-trapping law dubbed “Roxy’s Law.”

After several failed attempts, the bill was signed into law in April by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham after it passed the House by a single vote, 35-34. The law will take effect April 1, 2022.

Officials with state Game and Fish and BLM set up trail cameras and alleged in court records that they captured images of Cordova in the area where Clark’s dog was snared. Officials also searched his home and allegedly found numerous traps and animal pelts, according to court records.

Quintana alleged in court records that state officials destroyed thousands of photos and made other missteps that made it impossible for Cordova to formulate a defense.

All but 10 of the original charges were dismissed before jurors began deliberations this week, she said.

Read this article in the Albuquerque Journal

The post Trapper acquitted in case that inspired anti-trapping law appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

This Monday, November 1^st marks the start of New Mexico’s last trapping season on public lands. Thanks in large part to all that you did, Roxy’s Law will take effect on April 1^st 2022 and effectively end the use of traps, snares, and poisons across all public lands in our great state.

But we have one more trapping season to get through first. That means that from Monday, November 1 until March 15, 2022, you can expect to find dangerous, cruel traps and snares awaiting the paws and claws of unsuspecting wildlife and companion animals throughout New Mexico.

Stay alert and stay safe! We encourage you to watch this video to learn how to release your dog from a leghold trap and consider carrying cable-cutters in case your dog encounters a deadly snare. Already this fall we have heard from a New Mexican who has had to free their dog.

As always, if you do encounter a trap, please share your story with us.

We hope that you can enjoy New Mexico’s public lands this winter, but do so knowing that traps are out there. Next winter will be wonderfully different…

–Mary Katherine Ray and the TrapFree New Mexico Coalition

P.S. It’s never too late to thank the lawmakers who helped pass Roxy’s Law. You can look up your state senator and representative here and you can find a list of who voted for Senate Bill 32 here (House) and here (Senate). You can also thank Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham here for signing SB 32 “Roxy’s Law” into law.

The post New Mexico’s last trapping season on public lands appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Thinking about some other Western states’ version of so-called “leadership,” I am grateful for what we have here in New Mexico.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is infamous for assaulting a journalist, attempting to undermine democracy and violating his state’s hunting regulations (at least twice). News recently broke that Gianforte illegally trapped and killed a wolf that had ventured a few miles outside of the protections of Yellowstone National Park in February. This brazen and horrific act is par for the course for a man who continues to damage Montana’s reputation.

In New Mexico, we have elected officials on both sides of the aisle who seem to genuinely care about accountability, integrity and our state’s future — and who represent their constituents with grace and humility.

One of the greatest examples is Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. She is decidedly unafraid to take political heat while she works to benefit the highest possible number of the people she represents. And while no one is perfect — name any New Mexico governor who has been — she deserves immense credit for looking to the horizon rather than the immediate discomfort of making tough decisions.

Our governor further set herself apart from the misguided Gianforte and his ilk by following the successes of this past legislative session.

The governor signed “Roxy’s Law” (Senate Bill 32, the Wildlife Conservation & Public Safety Act), which ends recreational and commercial trapping on public lands across New Mexico. The legislation received bipartisan support in the Legislature, and has vocal advocates from urban and rural New Mexico — including ranchers, wildlife biologists, farmers and hunters. It represents the type of progress New Mexico needs as we rebuild our economy following the impacts of COVID-19.

Gianforte unnecessarily, unethically and illegally trapping and shooting an iconic wolf is a sad reflection of Montana’s backslide into cruelty and disregard for natural resources, public lands and imperiled wildlife. Right now, four draconian wolf-killing bills are incredibly close to becoming law in Montana. There’s no question they would be signed into law by Montana’s current scofflaw, wolf-killing governor.

Meanwhile, we can be proud that New Mexico is moving forward, looking to the horizon. Our biodiversity and landscapes are gaining protection and respect. We no longer allow the blood sport of coyote-killing contests — progress made after the state has banned other types of inhumane animal “sports” like cockfighting. Public lands are seen as something worth celebrating and protecting, not giving away for the limited use of special interest groups. Our emerging industries are green and sustainable and offer a fair shake to New Mexico businesses and workers, without endangering other users of the land.

By signing Roxy’s Law, Lujan Grisham moved New Mexico forward. Our neighbors in Colorado and Arizona took this step decades ago — albeit by ballot measure; and if New Mexico had this option, our voters likely would have followed suit long ago. Still, better late than never. And it’s much better to be moving forward than it is to be moving backward like Montana appears to be doing.

Roxy’s Law is an important building block in New Mexico’s contemporary conservation legacy. So, while I feel saddened and disgusted by the war on wildlife raging in Montana, I find some solace knowing that New Mexico continues improving and is showing leadership in the West.

Chris Smith is a native of New Mexico. At WildEarth Guardians, he works to protect wildlife and the ecosystems they call home.

Read this article in the Santa Fe New Mexican »

The post Signing Roxy’s Law moves New Mexico forward appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham began a critical week Monday by signing legislation that will deliver extra money to some schools and ban animal trapping on public land – a burst of action as she faces a Friday deadline to act on dozens of bills.

She approved 50 bills altogether Monday, touching on public financing for judicial candidates, community solar projects and medical debt.

Much of Monday’s action centered on children – including the creation of an independent office to review special education and a ban on hair discrimination in schools.

Two of the measures are expected to send more money to schools serving large Native American communities and low-income families. Still awaiting action by Friday are proposals that would require private employers to offer paid sick leave, establish a Civil Rights Act and allow medical aid in dying.

But Lujan Grisham signed a number of bills Monday.

A wildlife measure she approved, Senate Bill 32, passed the House this month by one vote, 35-34. The legislation will ban traps, snares and wildlife poisons on public land.

Jessica Johnson of Animal Protection Voters described it as the culmination of a decade of work to protect animals from unnecessary cruelty. The measure is named after Roxy, a dog who died of strangulation by a snare in 2018.

The bill, Johnson said, will “enhance the life of humans as well as companion animals, boost the safety of communities, and continue the important work of conservation and protection of the wildlife and public lands across New Mexico.”

Education measures

Approval of the education legislation, meanwhile, comes as New Mexico confronts the loss of in-person classroom time during the COVID-19 pandemic, on top of already-poor academic outcomes.

One measure signed Monday, House Bill 6, is expected to send an extra $60 million in federal Impact Aid to districts with vast amounts of tribal and other tax-exempt land. The state had previously deducted much of the federal money from the districts’ funding allocation, blocking the funds from reaching their intended target.

Lujan Grisham said the legislation ends “a long-standing practice that was fundamentally unfair, disadvantaging too many Native American students and communities.”

Another measure, Senate Bill 17, is expected to distribute $30 million over the next two years to schools serving a concentration of low-income families. The funding is for math, reading and other programs to support students.

“The need is great, and resources are limited,” Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said in a written statement. “That’s why it’s critical to target extra funding to the schools where it is most needed.”

Also signed Monday is legislation, Senate Bill 42, that will increase taxpayer-funded contributions into the pension system for educators. It calls for employers to boost their contributions into the fund by 1 percentage point each of the next two years, an amount expected to cost $34 million next year and $68 million the year after that.

The bills signed Monday also included measures on the environment, elections and health care.

She signed bills that will protect low-income New Mexicans from medical debt collection, make New Mexico the first state to extend public financing to District Court judicial candidates and enable groups of energy consumers to participate in community solar projects.

Budget awaits action

A $7.4 billion budget plan is awaiting action this week – an appropriations bill for which Lujan Grisham has line-item veto authority. Also on deck are bills to expand tax breaks for working families and create a citizens’ redistricting committee.

Any bill the governor doesn’t sign or veto by Friday is automatically rejected, a procedure known as a pocket veto. The deadline applies to bills passed in the final days of the regular 60-day session, which ended March 20.

A proposal to legalize retail sales of marijuana, by contrast, has extra time. It was passed in last week’s special session, so the governor has until April 20 to act.

As for the regular session, Lujan Grisham has signed 67 bills and vetoed one – out of 158 bills sent to her by legislators.

Lujan Grisham, a Democrat in her first term, has generally vetoed far fewer bills than her predecessor, Republican Susana Martinez. Democrats hold majorities in both legislative chambers.

Read this article in the Albuquerque Journal »

The post Lujan Grisham signs trapping ban, education package appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Contact:
Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, 505-395-6177, csmith@wildearthguardians.org 

New law represents a monumental victory for native wildlife and public lands

SANTA FE—Today, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law a bill banning traps, snares, and poisons on public lands across New Mexico.

Called “Roxy’s Law” in honor of a cattle dog who was strangled to death in a neck snare on public lands in 2018, this new law will go into effect in 2022 and will save untold numbers of native wildlife—as well as recreationists and companion animals—from cruel and indiscriminate traps, snares, and poisons on public lands across the Land of Enchantment.

Since 2008, private trappers in New Mexico have killed nearly 150,000 native wildlife species such as bobcats, swift foxes, badgers, beavers, ermine, and coyotes. Critically endangered species, such as the Mexican gray wolf, have also been killed and injured in traps, including two wolves caught in traps in New Mexico in the past six months.

“This is a monumental victory and a tremendous day for native wildlife in New Mexico and for the public lands that they call home. It’s also a day on which the Governor has signaled that outdoor recreation and public safety are critical to New Mexico’s economic future,” said Chris Smith, southern Rockies wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Getting this bill signed into law has been a priority for WildEarth Guardians for a decade. We applaud every citizen advocate and elected official who made this possible over the last decade. It is wonderful to catch up to our neighbors in Colorado and Arizona and show other western states the way forward in terms of respecting wildlife and protecting public lands.”

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The post Governor Lujan Grisham signs bill banning traps, snares, and poisons on New Mexico public lands appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Dear TrapFree New Mexico Friend,

With great pleasure, we have learned that Governor Lujan Grisham has signed SB 32 into law. Thank you all for your tireless advocacy through the years. You have been sharing these emails, signing the petitions, telling your friends, liking the TrapFree NM Facebook posts, and contacting decision makers over and over. And now at last, it has all come to fruition. Roxy’s Law will go into full effect in 2022 and traps, snares, and poisons will no longer be allowed on precious New Mexico public lands.

I personally want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your efforts. I have gotten to know many of you because you have shared your trap experiences. We are kindred spirits in our love for Nature and for wildlife. As a trap victim myself, I know a burden shared makes it easier to bear, but I will surely not miss hearing more stories of dogs trapped, of injured wildlife found suffering, of skinned carcass dumps, or of another endangered wolf harmed or killed by a private trap.

If you have never done this, have a look at all the coalition member organizations listed there. Every single one has contributed to this victory today. Every single one does wonderful work to protect and conserve wildlife in our state. As a coalition, the organizations that comprise TrapFree New Mexico never wavered even when it seemed like success was ever out of reach. Until finally, it wasn’t!

In Celebration!

–Mary Katherine Ray (also for the canine members of my family, for the coyotes I love to see in our yard, for the bobcats, foxes, badgers, and beavers I might see in the future and of course in honor and tribute for Roxy herself now that Roxy’s law is at last law!)

P.S. You can thank the Governor and praise her leadership envisioning a kinder and more compassionate New Mexico by sending a celebratory letter to the editor of your local paper. Visit here to submit to one or all.

The post Roxy’s Law Victory!! 🐕 appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

As a scientist advocating for evidence-based decision-making, I’m doing everything I can to promote Roxy’s Law, Senate Bill 32, to ban public lands trapping, snaring and poisoning in New Mexico.

In my testimony and prior opinion pieces, I address the science and value-based systems that inform debate on these lethal tools. While those points seem to resonate with some, recent debate from legislators centers not on science but on the traditions of farming and ranching.

So never mind science for a moment. I’d like to talk about traps, snares and poisons wearing my farmer hat. I am the daughter of three generations of farmers. I think three generations is enough time to inform useful thoughts on land stewardship.

My great-grandfather, grandfather, father, their wives, children and hired help never had to employ a trap, snare or poison in their livelihood of raising livestock and crops. We had more issues with deer in fields or rodents in grain bins than coyotes even looking at our cows or horses. Coyotes were welcomed because they checked rodent populations and were fun to watch.

During state Senate floor debate, Sen. Cliff Pirtle portrayed vulnerable images of cute baby cows. I agree, they sure are cute, as are baby pigs, chickens, horses and all the young ‘uns of the pastoral lot. Those same baby cows Pirtle so vividly depicted are some of my fondest childhood memories. But Pirtle also vividly described gory scenes of predation by wild canids. Well, nothing like that happened on my family’s farm (farming can be gory thanks to humans).

We weren’t spared those gory scenes of nature red in tooth and claw because we were lucky in some way. We didn’t experience conflict with nature because we understood nature and practiced commonsense husbandry. In nature, babies are vulnerable. So calves (and colts, fillies, piglets) were welcomed into the world close to human presence and shelters. We lost fewer mothers to birthing complications that way.

We also avoided conflict with nature by not asking for conflict in the form of lethal control. This is where I must put my science hat back on and point out that studies increasingly support my family’s experience. Lethal control begets chaos in the social dynamics of coyotes and other predators. It can also increase the chances that breeding adults get killed before they teach their young to properly hunt. If you’re not taught how to get healthy food, you end up at the easiest fast-food joint. Similarly, juveniles that aren’t taught to hunt native prey might turn to an atypical food source like an easier (future) burger, however cute it may be.

The post Farming is possible without killing coyotes appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.