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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She turned around to find her dog, Jessie, a 2-year-old Dutch shepherd, with one of her paws caught in a metal trap near the trail where they were walking.

“My little Jessie girl was crying and screaming,” Miller told the Journal on Friday. “My other dog was upset trying to console her and lay down next to her.”

Miller knew how to disarm traps – she and her dogs often volunteer on search-and-rescue teams in northern New Mexico – but she said it was still difficult to do in such a high-intensity situation.

After a few minutes of what she described as “initial panic,” Miller freed Jessie’s leg from the trap with only minimal injuries to the dog.

Her story is not unique. In fact, Jessie is one of at least three dogs caught by metal traps across the state during the first 26 days of the trapping season. The incidents have reignited debate about the ethical nature of trapping animals, often for fur to be sold on the open market.

Jessica Johnson of Animal Protection Voters New Mexico said it’s unclear whether there’s been an increase in the number of dogs caught in traps, because owners are becoming more likely to report such incidents.

Trap Free New Mexico, an organization that advocates for restrictions and bans on trapping in certain areas, has a map on its website of dogs caught by traps in recent years. It also maps out Mexican gray wolves caught by traps in southwestern New Mexico, most of which were released back into the wild.

Another recent incident took place in northern Santa Fe County. A black Lab named Mahlia stepped on a trap, severing many of her toes and trapping her in the same spot for several days until rescuers found her.

Kevin Bixby, executive director for Southwest Environmental Center, said that trappers are supposed to check all traps every 24 hours after setting them but that many leave them alone for days at a time.

“Sometimes trappers don’t check their traps and an animal will just die a slow, painful death,” Bixby said. “These animals become prey for other animals.”

Trapping is an industry that brought many to the West during the early years of the United States, where pelts of animals like beavers were valuable commodities. And while demand has decreased, many still set traps across the state for furs of coyotes, bobcats and many other animals.

And unlike in many other states, trapping in New Mexico is legal on private and public lands.

The state Department of Game and Fish found that more than 3,700 protected fur-bearing animals were killed by traps in one year, according to the 2019-2020 harvest report, mostly bobcats and gray foxes.

Those numbers, though, don’t include the numbers of coyotes or skunks killed during the same year, because they’re not considered protected. Johnson said those numbers could be well above 5,000.

And many times, the carcasses of trapped animals are left behind once trappers take their pelts. Earlier this month, a hiker in Doña Ana County found more than a dozen skinned coyote carcasses piled up together, many with obvious trapping wounds on their legs.

Activists are proposing legislation to ban trapping on public lands, to prevent further incidents of dogs being caught in traps. Johnson said it’s especially concerning that there’s no limit on how many animals someone can trap, different from many popular forms of hunting.

“A lot of traps are being set out there in unlimited numbers,” she said.

“Roxy’s Law,” which failed to pass in the 2019 legislative session, was named for a dog strangled by a snare in November 2018. The bill to ban trapping on public lands in New Mexico contained exceptions for game agencies to prevent livestock depredations, as well as tribal and pueblo ceremonial purposes.

The New Mexico Game and Fish Commission adopted trapping rule changes in January. The changes include mandatory trapper education, along with restrictions for traps near trailheads and in certain national forest areas near Taos and Santa Fe.

But Chris Smith, Southern Rockies wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians, said the changes did little but “stave off” what activists see as necessary legislation.

“This statewide problem affects wildlife, recreation, our tourism economy and our reputation as a state,” Smith said. “Right now people are relying on public lands more than ever. We certainly intend to bring this legislation back to make our public lands safer.”

The Journal reached out to the New Mexico Trappers Association multiple times but received no response before publication.

As for Jessie, Miller said that her dog is recovering and that she’s thankful she knew how to disarm traps, and she encourages other dog owners to learn how.

“We got really lucky,” she said, “but you don’t want anyone to go through that.”

Read the article in the Albuquerque Journal

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Kevin Bixby, executive director of the Southwest Environmental Center in Las Cruces, went to the site to check out the scene on Sunday.

“It was pretty gruesome,” Bixby said. “They were probably trapped in the area out in the desert.”

More than 30 coyotes had been dumped in four piles in the desert, their bodies all skinned and at varying levels of decomposition. Several had typical leg-hold trap wounds on their paws, indicating that this was the work of trappers who had dumped the bodies after removing the coyote’s fur.

“I can trap coyotes all year round,” Bixby said. “But this time of year when it gets a little colder, the pelts are worth more money.”

According to state law, there isn’t a limit on trapping coyotes and New Mexico residents don’t need a hunting license to trap coyotes.

However, these piles of coyotes were found on private land according to Bixby. The private land owner could pursue trespassing charges.

Bixby said he doubted they were killed in a contest because that would likely mean the animals would be shot, which often spoils the furs. They also didn’t have wires around their jaws, which are typical of animals that have been killed in killing contests. Coyote-killing contests are banned in the state.

Bixby warned of the dangers that trapping poses.

“Every year, people out walking with their dogs, their dogs get caught,” Bixby said. “The act of trapping itself is horrible. It’s indiscriminate. They’re like landmines in the desert. They’re just waiting to catch anything that steps on them.”

Jessica Johnson, chief legislative officer for Animal Protection Voters, said this method of trapping, skinning and dumping seems quite common in the community.

“Having engaged in conversations with trappers … several of them have told me that what they do is they dump the bodies into ditches or hidden areas out on the land,” Johnson said. “They say that you should only dump maybe two or three at a time in one space to not create a big smell or visual appearance that would make it noticeable to someone.”

She said the most responsible way to dispose of these carcasses would be through a landfill or incineration, both of which cost money. Johnson explained that most trappers trap to make money, so these options take away from that profit.

When Bixby arrived at the scene, he ran into some men leaving the area who claimed they were hired to distribute the bodies. He suspected these men were not law enforcement or wildlife officials as one man was drinking a beer. He said it was  suspicious.

Bixby said he believes these men could potentially be connected to the dumping crime as the story was reported by KFOX14 two days prior, and they could have been tampering with the scene.

Read the article in the Las Cruces Sun-News

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ABQ Journal February 27, 2018

Click for larger image

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Mary Katherine Ray of Winston said she was walking her two leashed dogs on Tuesday, along a game trail they frequently use in the San Mateo Mountains, when her shepherd mix, Greta, began to scream in pain.

“Until you’ve heard it, it is unimaginable,” said Ray, who works with the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club.

Watch video: This is what it sounds like when a dog gets trapped

Read the story in the Albuquerque Journal

Greta, Mary Katherine Ray’s dog, holds up her left paw after it was briefly stuck in a foothold trap. (Courtesy of Mary Katherine Ray)

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Read the article in the Albuquerque Journal

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