As of April 2022, the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act also known as Roxy’s Law has banned the use of traps, snares and poison for the purposes of capturing wildlife on public land. The law, named after a dog killed by a trap in Northern New Mexico.

“This has been so important for New Mexico to enact for a number of reasons we know that traps, snares, and poisons when used to mass eradicate a wild species or to kill animals for fur to make a profit is cruel and unnecessary,” said Animal Protection Voters of New Mexico Chief Government Affairs Officer, Jessica Johnson.

The National Trappers Association and its New Mexico chapter, along with a group called the Fur Takers of America claim the law unfairly favors Native Americans, allowing them to trap for religious or ceremonial reasons, and that the law violates equal protection clauses of the state U.S. constitutions, but the state disputes all that. “There is a long-standing recognition of respecting Native American religious practices in this country and in the state of New Mexico so that part of the bill is not reinventing the wheel and it’s one of several exceptions that were well vetted,” Johnson said.

The Trappers and their attorneys did not comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit names the state’s Attorney General and the Department of Game and Fish, both agencies say they are reviewing the lawsuit.

Read and watch on KRQE.com

The post New Mexico animal trapping law receives pushback from trappers appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Fox cub born to die in a fur farm cage.

Californians can now officially celebrate the end of fur sales in the Golden State. A statewide ban on the sale of new animal fur products went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, making California the first state in the U.S. to implement such a ban. Its citizens have waited more than three years for the new law to take effect after legislators passed AB 44, sponsored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman. The law, which makes it illegal to manufacture or sell a new animal fur product in California both through brick-and-mortar and online sales, included a phase-in period, giving retailers time to adjust and shift their inventory to fur-free products. It also allows for the continued sale of used animal fur products sold at nonprofit thrift stores, secondhand stores and pawn shops.

California’s ban on the sale of fur products is expected to make a massive dent in the fur industry. Federal fur sales data shows that nearly 25% of all fur product sales in the U.S. occur in California. The new law helps end the suffering of millions of animals either born to die on fur farms or caught in cruel traps in the wild, just so their coats can be used to create luxury goods like hats and loafers.

Each year, more than 100 million animals, such as mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas, are raised and killed on fur farms. While most fur sold in the U.S. comes from operations in other countries, primarily China and Europe, fur farms do still exist in some U.S. states. For instance, Wisconsin, Utah, Idaho, Washington and Oregon still allow the farming of animals for their fur. Much of this fur is sent overseas to be made into garments.

Animals kept at these facilities live in some of the cruelest conditions imaginable. These wild animals are typically held captive in small wire cages and are unable to fulfill natural behaviors like swimming, digging and running. They remain largely unprotected by laws in the U.S. and overseas, such as mandatory inspections and humane slaughter laws, and they are often electrocuted, gassed or bludgeoned to death so that their pelts are not damaged. In some instances, animals may not die from these methods and are skinned while still alive.

As unbearable as it is to think of this kind of intense and pointless suffering, we’re witnessing real progress toward relegating this brutality to the history books. Communities are taking it upon themselves to help put an end to the unconscionable cruelty that is inherent to the fur industry. Grassroots advocates in the U.S. and across the globe are stepping up to pass policies that end the sale of fur products. Before the passage of California’s ban on the sale of fur products, four municipalities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood) passed local ordinances banning these products, paving the way for statewide legislation. Many other communities from coast to coast have followed suit, and global leaders are taking notice.

Internationally, more than 20 countries have passed laws to limit or outright ban fur farming and, in 2021, Israel became the first country to prohibit the sale of fur products. Now, European citizens are gathering signatures in support of a “Fur-Free Europe” European Citizens’ Initiative asking for a ban on fur farming and placing fur-farmed products on the European marketplace. Although the petition has already gathered the necessary 1 million signatures needed by May 2023 for the European Commission to issue a formal response, it remains open to collect additional signatures. I encourage citizens of the European Union to sign it.

Also, at the corporate level, companies continue to drop animal fur from their product lines, with several policies going into effect to align with California’s fur ban. Canada Goose, Kering, Saks Fifth Avenue, Zegna Group, Rudsak, Mytheresa and Moose Knuckles all pledged to go fur-free by the end of 2022, and Neiman Marcus by March 2023. While only a few companies still sell animal fur, one of the last major holdouts is the corporate conglomerate LVMH (parent company for brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Marc Jacobs, Loro Piana and Fendi). That this conglomerate still sells fur has made it the target of persistent global outreach from animal welfare advocates calling on the corporation to ban fur sales once and for all.

We should absolutely celebrate California banning fur sales and other recent wins in our fight against fur, but there is still much work to be done, and you can help. If you are interested on working toward a fur sales bans in your area, check out our ordinance toolkit, which provides an easy guide for taking action in your own community. You can also find plenty of additional information and resources on our Going Fur-Free webpage.

Read this article on the Humane Society of the United States blog

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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.

Last week a dog walking with its owner was caught in both a snare and leg hold trap off of FS-137 outside of El Rito. These illegally set traps on National Forest land were subsequently removed by New Mexico Game and Fish. The road the traps were close to is frequently used by dog walkers. Needless to say, it was a frightening and unexpected experience for the dog owner who had no experience releasing traps. The dog was calm and after some (very) anxious time, the owner first freed the dog’s paw, then after realizing the dog had a snare around its neck, figured out how to release that too.

We hope that if you walk dogs or ride horses you will take a few minutes to watch these videos (leghold trap | snare) detailing how to remove snares and traps. Understanding the mechanics of how they work might save your dog’s life and will certainly make removing the traps easier.

Trapping on public lands in New Mexico will be illegal April 1st. Until then, trappers MUST HAVE a permit to place traps on public land.

Read the article in the Abiquiu News

The post Trap Incident Report: Dog caught in trap and snare near El Rito 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.

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.

Read the full article on the HSUS blog

The post Ann Arbor’s ban on fur sales is part of a larger fight to save wildlife appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

City Council responded by voting 10-0 to give the final OK to a new ordinance banning sales of fur products in the city.

“This is yesterday’s business,” said Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, lead sponsor of the proposal.

Hayner called it a logical next step for humanity and animal rights to push back against the fur trade.

“Furriers need to go the way of the buggy-whip makers, you might say,” he said. “And they will and they are, and the world will be better for it.”

The ban takes effect in one year, giving retailers time to sell existing inventory and keep existing order commitments.

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person may not sell, offer for sale, display for sale, trade, or otherwise distribute for monetary or non-monetary consideration a new fur product in the city,” the ordinance states.

It prescribes a $500 penalty for each violation.

The ordinance lists some allowable exemptions, including used fur products such as those sold by vintage and second-hand clothing stores, and fur products used for traditional tribal, cultural or spiritual purposes by Native Americans, or fur products used in practicing religion.

The reasons for the fur ban are articulated in detail in the ordinance.

“Animals that are slaughtered for their fur endure tremendous suffering,” it states. “Animals raised on fur farms typically spend their entire lives in cramped unsanitary cages. Animals raised on fur farms are inhumanely killed by suffocation, electrocution, gassing and neck-breaking. Animals trapped in their native habitats are subject to ensnarement in foothold traps, body-gripping straps, snares and cable restraints for multiple days.”

Read this article on Michigan Live

The post ‘This is yesterday’s business.’ Fur sales ban gets Ann Arbor’s 10-0 final OK appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Environmental protection minister, Gila Gamliel, passed the ban into law, and issued a statement after signing the regulations: “The fur industry causes the deaths of hundreds of millions of animals worldwide, and inflicts indescribable cruelty and suffering. Using the skin and fur of wildlife for the fashion industry is immoral and is certainly unnecessary. Animal fur coats cannot cover the brutal murder industry that makes them. Signing these regulations will make the Israeli fashion market more environmentally friendly and far kinder to animals.”

Read this article on the Humane Society International website

The post Israel becomes first country in the world to introduce “historic” ban on fur sales appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

The Riigikogu (Estonia’s parliament) passed amendments to the existing Animal Protection Act and Nature Conservation Act on Wednesday.

The act will now prohibit the breeding and keeping of animals solely or primarily for the purpose of fur farming, thereby excepting sheep and rabbit breeders. According to ERR News, 56 MPs voted in favor and 19 voted against the amendments.

“It’s a great day for the thousands of animals who will be saved from a life of suffering thanks to Estonia passing this law,” said Connor Jackson, CEO of Open Cages, in a statement sent to LIVEKINDLY.

According to a 2020 survey carried out by data and business insight company Kantar Emor, 75 percent of those living in Estonia are opposed to fur farming.

Why Has Estonia Banned Fur Farming?

According to the Fur Free Alliance, current European fur farming practices are incompatible with even the most basic animal welfare standards, as well as EU law. Animals typically live in cramped, oppressive conditions and often experience both injury and disease.

Within the context of increasing global environmental efforts, the enormous negative impact of factory fur farms is both unnecessary and incongruous. The industry as a whole creates pollution, reduces biodiversity, and emits greenhouse gases.

Estonia has been discussing a potential ban since 2009, and the overall number of fur farms has significantly decreased since then. Today, the number of animals farmed has fallen from around 200,000 to just under 1,000, as per data from Open Cages.

At the beginning of 2021, the largest fur farm in Estonia (with a peak occupancy of 170,000 animals) announced that it is now empty. The government will issue no new permits for keeping mink and raccoon dogs after July 1, 2021, and will completely prohibit this style of fur farming after January 1, 2026.

The new amendments make Estonia the 14th European nation to ban fur farming. This includes the UK, which has prohibited fur farming for over 20 years but is no longer a member of the EU.

Read this article in Live Kindly

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