Adapted from an interview by Lindsey Botts

January 1, 2023

A few years after moving to a remote area of southern New Mexico, I saw a Sierra Club ad in the local paper. I was a longtime member and thought, “That’s amazing that a Sierra Club group is forming in this rural area!” I joined it and made new friends, but it wasn’t until 2003 that I really became active as a leader.

That year, I was hiking on a winter morning on public land near my home with my two dogs. Suddenly, one of the dogs started pulling on his leash. At the spot he wanted to investigate, there was a hidden steel-jaw trap. It leapt out of the sand when I inadvertently triggered it and slammed shut on air. The dogs and I weren’t hurt, but that moment cleaved my life in two: before trapping and after trapping.

The injustice—that a trapper could legally put me in this dangerous situation and harm my dog—was unconscionable. I shared my story with a Sierra Club friend and mentor when I got home. She said that she had also recently run into a trap on an outing she was leading: A participant’s dog had gotten caught, and it ruined the entire excursion. We were furious. Placing people in harm’s way was wrong, to say nothing of subjecting wildlife to this cruelty. That’s when I began to actively advocate for a trapping ban on public lands.

We started with the New Mexico Game Commission. After several years of us trying—organizing and generating more opposition to traps—they remained unmoved. We felt ridiculed and belittled. It didn’t matter that every year more people submitted comments opposing traps on public land—100, 1,000, then 12,000 written comments didn’t make a difference. While leading an outing myself in 2011, our group came upon a coyote struggling and badly injured in a trap. I vowed to use her picture to publicize the brutality of trapping. She is memorialized as the logo of TrapFreeNM.org, the coalition of conservation and animal protection groups I helped bring together. I never could have done this work alone.

By 2013, our coalition realized that the game commission would not help us, and we needed the legislature to change the law. The resulting bill’s first sponsor was a legislator representing a tourist destination where people enjoy recreating on public lands and where a constituent not only had two dogs that got caught in traps but was also injured herself.

The bill didn’t pass when it was first introduced, but we kept at it. Our state legislature meets only every other year to consider nonbudgetary bills. With every iteration, more people, including legislators, became aware of the injustice of trapping.

Each session brought more public support, more media coverage, and more yes votes. In 2021, the bill passed the state senate floor. We knew it would be close in the house of representatives. After several hours of debate on the house floor, the tally was tied. A bill does not pass on a tie vote. The next two years and all the work ahead flashed before my eyes. But at the last moment, another yes vote was cast by a legislator. One of their constituents had a dog who was killed by a snare in 2018. The bill became known as Roxy’s Law in the dog’s memory. The law went to the governor’s desk. With her signature, 17 years after I started my advocacy, traps and poisons were finally outlawed on New Mexico public lands.

It’s unbelievable that in the 21st century, the archaic and cruel practice of trapping is still allowed. Our opponents ignored us, then laughed at us, then fought us. But finally we, the public, and wildlife won.

Read this article at Sierra

The post Bye-Bye, Trapping on Public Land in New Mexico appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

New Mexico is joining a handful of Western states that have limited trapping on public lands, with supporters saying the move will help protect endangered species such as the Mexican gray wolf and prevent household pets from walking into traps amid efforts to promote outdoor recreation and tourism.

The New Mexico measure, dubbed “Roxy’s Law,” was approved in 2021 following several failed attempts by animal advocates over the years to rein in a practice they have described as archaic and indiscriminate.

Chris Smith with the group WildEarth Guardians was among those who lobbied for the change. He called the law a momentous win for public lands and wildlife, saying it marks a shift away from seeing native animals as a nuisance.

“Native species are critical to ecosystems and cultures alike; and we are finally protecting and respecting them accordingly,” Smith said in a statement.

Trapping and snaring triggered emotionally charged debates during legislative sessions and state Game Commission meetings, with proponents and critics often being separated by a rural-urban divide.

Rural residents and wildlife conservation officers had argued that trapping was an important tool for managing wildlife and protecting livestock. They unsuccessfully pleaded with lawmakers to allow more time for rules that were adopted by state wildlife managers in 2020 to work before imposing the sweeping trapping ban.

The law allows continued use of traps on public lands for purposes of scientific research, ecosystem management and rodent control. It also exempts Native American religious observances that may involve harvesting wildlife.

The law does not affect activity on private property or apply to Native American lands.

Violating the statute can result in a misdemeanor, with each trap, snare or poison application constituting a single violation of the law.

Following the 2020-2021 trapping season, environmentalists and animal advocates had counted at least nine dogs that had been caught in privately set traps and snares on public land in northern New Mexico. In February, a dog walking with its owner was caught in a snare and leg hold trap near the community of El Rito.

California and Washington have limits on trapping, but advocates say New Mexico is joining neighboring Arizona and Colorado with more restrictive rules.

In Colorado, a constitutional amendment in 1997 prohibited trapping, snares and poison on public and private land — though 30-day exceptions are granted when landowners show that livestock or crop damage can’t be prevented by sanctioned or non-lethal methods. Arizona in the 1990s banned the use of foothold traps and snares on public land with few exceptions.

Read this article on KRQE.com 

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It was the passionate work of the TrapFree New Mexico coalition, the genuine leadership of state legislators, the courageous testimony of trap victims from around the state and, ultimately, the governor’s signature that turned this tragedy – and countless others like it – into a positive outcome for New Mexico. Roxy’s Law will make public lands safer for everyone.

It is likely that millions of animals in New Mexico have been tortured, maimed and killed by cruel, limb-crushing traps and strangulation snares. This indiscriminate slaughter continued for so long because one state agency – the Department of Game and Fish – kept it going despite massive, clearly stated opposition. This self-serving department operates with state authority, but without any real accountability to the constituents it is supposed to serve, the people of New Mexico. The behavior of the Game Department illustrates a basic failure of governance in our state.

With its relentless “hunting is conservation” propaganda, the Game Department essentially operates New Mexico as a pay-to-kill game farm, selling the state’s wildlife as “products” on its website. Let’s be clear: killing wildlife is not conserving wildlife. This is the same state agency that did nothing to stop the obscene coyote-killing contests. The state Legislature had to step in and stop that slaughter.

The Game Commission that ostensibly oversees the Game Department has positions for seven commissioners, only one of whom represents conservation interests. Commissioners are appointed by the governor, but are not required to have any training or expertise in wildlife, biological sciences or public trust duties, and can be removed at any time without cause. This is a purely political exercise that is subject to abuse. Wildlife management should never be politicized.

Wildlife is a public trust in which all New Mexicans have a legitimate interest, not just those who hunt and fish. But the 95% of New Mexicans who do not hunt or fish are systematically excluded from state wildlife policy. This arrangement is profoundly anti-democratic and lacks basic legitimacy.

Basic components of good governance include accountability, inclusivity, responsiveness and transparency. New Mexico state wildlife management lacks all four. The Game Department’s backward policies are badly out of step with mainstream society and show little sign of improving. There is no reason we should allow any state agency to pursue an agenda that is clearly at odds with what most New Mexicans want for the state’s wildlife: respectful coexistence. Without deep reform and repurposing of state wildlife management, we can and should expect the abuse to continue.

Banning traps, snares and poisons on public lands is a victory for basic decency in our relationship with each other and what remains of our wildlife. There is no reason we should tolerate the cruel, indiscriminate killing of our companion animals or wildlife. There is no excuse for repeating the mistakes and abuses of the past, no matter how longstanding.

Read this piece in the Albuquerque Journal »

The post Roxy’s Law a win, but wildlife governance needs reform appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

It was the passionate work of the TrapFree New Mexico coalition, the genuine leadership of state legislators, the courageous testimony of trap victims from around the state and, ultimately, the governor’s signature that turned this tragedy — and countless others like it — into a positive outcome for New Mexico. Roxy’s Law will make our public lands safer for everyone.

It is likely millions of animals in New Mexico have been tortured, maimed and killed by cruel, limb-crushing traps and strangulation snares. This indiscriminate slaughter continued for so long because one state agency — the Department of Game and Fish — kept it going in spite of massive, clearly stated opposition. This self-serving department operates with state authority but without any real accountability to the constituents it is supposed to serve, the people of New Mexico. The behavior of the department illustrates a basic failure of governance in our state.

With its relentless “hunting is conservation” propaganda, Game and Fish essentially operates New Mexico as a pay-to-kill game farm, selling the state’s wildlife as “products” on its website. Let’s be clear: Killing wildlife is not conserving wildlife in any sane sense. This is the same state agency that did nothing to stop the obscene coyote killing contests. The state Legislature had to step in and stop the slaughter.

The State Game Commission that ostensibly oversees Game and Fish has positions for seven commissioners, only one of which represents conservation interests. Commissioners are appointed by the governor but are not required to have any training or expertise in wildlife, biological sciences or public trust duties and can be removed at any time without cause. This is a purely political exercise that is subject to abuse. Wildlife management should never be politicized.

Wildlife is a public trust in which all New Mexicans have a legitimate interest, not just those who hunt and fish. But the 95 percent of New Mexicans who do not hunt or fish are systematically excluded from state wildlife policy. This arrangement is profoundly anti-democratic and lacks basic legitimacy.

Basic components of good governance include: accountability, inclusivity, responsiveness and transparency. New Mexico state wildlife management lacks all four of these critical components. The department’s backward policies and management objectives are badly out of step with mainstream society and show little sign of improving. There is no reason we should allow any state agency to pursue an agenda that is clearly at odds with what most New Mexicans want for the state’s wildlife: respectful coexistence. Without deep reform and repurposing of state wildlife management, we can and should expect the abuse to continue.

Banning traps, snares and poisons on public lands is a victory for basic decency in our relationship with one another and what remains of our wildlife. There is no reason we should tolerate the cruel, indiscriminate killing of our companion animals or wildlife. There is no excuse for repeating the mistakes and abuses of the past, no matter how longstanding. Tradition is no excuse for abuse.

Read this My View in the Santa Fe New Mexican »

The post Roxy’s Law makes public lands safer — now reform Game and Fish appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Roxy – the beloved dog killed by a neck snare in 2018 while hiking with her family – may not have received justice in the recent trial of the trapper accused of setting that snare. But she was victorious in a far greater way. Her face and name became emblematic of the campaign to stop the recreational and destructive use of traps, snares and poisons on New Mexico’s public lands. And, in 2021, that work finally paid off when “Roxy’s Law” was signed into law.

Roxy’s death appalled and alarmed many New Mexicans. It was her story that topped off years of work by Animal Protection New Mexico and other animal advocates to ban traps, snares and poisons on public lands. But that campaign started decades ago – long before Roxy’s death.

Advocates spent many years in the 2000s urging action by the state Game Commission, but to no avail. Turning to the New Mexico Legislature for a solution, the first bill introduced to ban traps, snares and poisons in New Mexico was in 2013.

When Roxy died in 2018, there had already been numerous well-publicized trapping horror stories in the news. And, after she died, dozens more stories were shared: more dogs and cats caught in leg-hold traps and strangled in neck snares, and more people outdoors discovering wildlife victims, as well: injured and emaciated foxes and bobcats, decaying bodies stuck in forgotten traps, and piles of skinned carcasses left by trappers after they took all the fur they could sell for profit.

By the time “Roxy’s Law” finally passed and was signed into law in spring of 2021, reports of roughly 150 terrifying incidents, illegal trapping citations and endangered species captured on public land had been collected. New Mexicans were saying “Enough!” And the Legislature agreed.

The public should still beware: The prohibition on traps, snares and poisons on public lands doesn’t take effect until April 1, 2022. We are in the midst of the last ever trapping season on public lands. Trapping season spans from Nov. 1 through March 31 – though some species can be trapped year-round.

Roxy was killed over a Thanksgiving weekend, so this holiday season, here are some things to know:

• Until April 2022, traps, snares and poisons are currently legal on public lands, and anyone on public lands may be endangered by them.

• Though it doesn’t guarantee safety for you or your companion animals, you can reduce your risk by staying on marked trails and keeping your animals on leash. This is often better for wildlife and habitat, as well.

• If you, a member of your party, or your animal is caught or injured by a trap, snare or poison, please report that incident online at trapfreenm.org or call the Animal Protection New Mexico cruelty hotline at 1-877-5-HUMANE (1-877-548-6263), and you can get help on relaying information to law enforcement, if applicable.

The terrible outcome in Roxy’s case – botched by investigators’ failure to properly handle evidence – means no one will be held accountable for setting the neck snare that killed her. Our hearts go out to the Clark family, as no one should have to watch their animal die so tragically before their eyes. But the law that is Roxy’s namesake will go on to protect thousands of animals from unspeakable suffering every year, a legacy much bigger than a single case or trial.

Read this article in the Albuquerque Journal

The post Roxy’s anti-trapping legacy greater than botched trial appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

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.

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.

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Senate Bill 32, The Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, had four committed sponsors, including Sen. Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales and Rep. Christine Chandler, both of whom represent Los Alamos; as well as Sens. Brenda McKenna and Matthew McQueen.

Forty-five years ago my family came upon a trapped animal during a Christmas Tree outing in the Jemez mountains. I have never forgotten the sickening horror associated with that incident. Those who truly believe that mankind was created in the image of God must also believe that they are obliged to behave with the same compassion and grace as our Creator. I have seen with my own eyes that there is nothing graceful nor compassionate about trapping.

Passing the Wildlife Conservation and Safety Act was long overdue. I appreciate and thank all of those who helped make it happen.

Read this Letter in the Los Alamos Reporter

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