The governor of Montana recently made news by sadistically – and illegally – trapping and killing a wolf as that state gears up to slaughter more of its native wildlife.

Despite protests from numerous professional wildlife managers, the Montana legislature recently passed several bills that will allow gruesome, unethical and unsustainable wildlife baiting and killing methods that were outlawed a century ago.

Fortunately, the New Mexico Legislature has chosen a more sensible and humane path in regard to wildlife and public lands by passing Senate Bill 32, “Roxy’s Law,” that would restrict traps, snares and explosive poison devices on our public lands. If enacted, this law will protect people, pets and wildlife from these cruel, indiscriminate devices on public lands. SB 32 is widely supported in both rural and urban areas across the state, and would offer numerous benefits to residents, visitors and the state’s economy.

But be warned: SB 32 will not become law unless Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs it. She has until April 9 to do so.

Call the office of Gov. Lujan Grisham at (505) 476-2200 or submit written comments at https://www.governor.state.nm.us/contact-the-governor/.

Trapping on public lands continues to be a source of intense conflict. Limb-crushing steel jaw traps, steel cable strangulation snares and M-44 explosive cyanide devices are present unmarked on our public lands, and all are notoriously indiscriminate killers. Current regulations on these devices are almost nonexistent; trappers can set as many traps and kill as many animals as they want for a mere $20 trapping license, and sell the body parts for personal profit without even paying gross receipts tax. This lax approach by state wildlife managers has led to widespread illegal trapping and snaring, and is a clear and present danger to all public lands users.

The presence of traps on public lands is not compatible with other uses of public lands or with the demands of basic decency in contemporary society. Animals caught in traps often suffer for days before they are killed and are subject to extreme and agonizing body mutilations. Trapping and snaring inflict some of the most extreme animal cruelty that still persists in our society. Traps, snares and poisons have destroyed many lives, and they will continue to do so unless they are restricted from public lands.

As a member of the TrapFree New Mexico coalition, I have seen too much destruction to ignore or trivialize this issue. Roxy’s Law is named after a snare victim, a dog, who died struggling in her owner’s arms on New Mexico public lands in 2018.

New Mexico wildlife managers have done an abysmal job of protecting people and wildlife from the cruelty and unlimited exploitation of trapping. SB 32 is a rare opportunity to make significant improvements to public safety, wildlife protection and public lands management. Banning traps on public lands would open up the potential for a robust outdoor recreation industry, diversify the state’s economy and drive employment in a truly sustainable way.

Should it become state law, SB 32 has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of wild lives and improve many others, both human and nonhuman. But this legislation will not go into effect unless the governor signs it.

Please take a minute or two and be heard! Call the office of Gov. Lujan Grisham at (505) 476-2200 or submit written comments at https://www.governor.state.nm.us/contact-the-governor/.

Urge her to sign SB 32 into law.

Read this Guest Column in the Albuquerque Journal »

The post Guest Column: Urge the governor to sign ‘Roxy’s Law’ appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Read the Albuquerque Journal Editorial here

Co-Sponsored by Senator Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales, Senator Brenda McKenna, Representative Matthew McQueen, Representative Christine Chandler

DOWNLOAD THE SB32 “ROXY’S LAW” FACT SHEET
[ UPDATED MARCH 12, 2021 – 188 KB PDF ]

ABOUT THE BILL

• Prohibits all traps (leghold, body-gripping, cage traps), snares, and wildlife poisons
• Applies to public land only – defined in the bill to include lands owned, leased, or held in trust by the state, federal, local governments; but not Indian nation, tribe, or Pueblo lands or the inside of structures
• With explicit exemptions for:
  1. All other types of hunting, fishing, archery, falconry, etc.
  2. The taking of birds, fish, or rodents not classified as “furbearers”
  3. Protecting human health and safety by a government entity
  4. Ecosystem management by Dept. of Game & Fish, US Fish & Wildlife Service, or conservancy districts
  5. Bona fide scientific research
  6. Dept. of Game & Fish acting on nuisance/depredation complaints using non-lethal traps or snares
  7. Cage traps to protect property/crops/livestock, or to recover lost or feral domestic animals
  8. Use by a member of an Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo for religious or ceremonial purposes
• Establishes misdemeanor penalties for persons who violate the law

WHY BAN TRAPS, SNARES, POISONS ON PUBLIC LANDS? BECAUSE THEY:

1. Undermine Other Uses of Public Lands & Harm Our Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Economy: Traps, snares, and poisons endanger people and pets who are engaging in hiking, camping, fishing, horseback riding, hunting, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing, wildlife watching, backpacking, climbing, or nearly any other activity one can imagine. And, while trapping season spans November through mid-March, these devices can be legally set for some species year-round.
2. Violate the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: Unlike hunted game species, furbearer species targeted by traps, snares, and poisons can be taken in unlimited numbers and sold in commercial markets. This drains a public resource for private profit, violating the North American Model supported by ethical sportsmen and NM Dept. of Game & Fish.
3. Harm Non-Target Wild & Domestic Animals: Traps often maim or kill non-target animals and there are many past instances across the state, including trapped black bears, endangered wolves, mountain lions, and wild native birds. Along with non-target wildlife, leghold traps have injured or killed domestic dogs or cats in nearly every county in New Mexico, including in sparsely populated rural and wilderness areas.
4. Injure & Kill Endangered Species: As an example, of the at least 46 endangered Mexican wolves trapped in New Mexico in the past two decades, 43% were injured. Of all injured wolves, 42% died. In comparison, in the same time period, just 4 wolves were accidentally trapped in Arizona where traps are already banned on public lands.
5. Subject Animals to Unnecessary Cruelty: Trapped and snared animals are subject to prolonged pain, dehydration, starvation, broken bones, predation, dislocation, self- amputation, trauma & death. If found alive, wildlife is typically dispatched by bludgeoning, choking, or torso-stomping in order to preserve the pelt for commercial sale. Roxy, a senior heeler, strangled to death in a neck snare on public land in 2018.

ADDRESSING CONCERNS AND MISCONCPETIONS

New Mexicans Broadly—Including Rural and Urban Dwellers—Oppose Traps, Snares, and Poisons on Public Lands. Polls over recent years have shown that New Mexico voters, statewide, support banning these devices from public lands by approximately a 2-1 to 3-1 margin.

Fur Trapping is Not a Key Source of Income for an Average Trapper: The fur market has been in decline for years, as supply far outpaces demand and fashion brands swear off the use of fur. The average NM trapper who attempted to sell every harvest from the ‘18-‘19 season grossed only $264.54–$440.76.

Traps, Snares, and Poisons Are Not Necessary to Protect Livestock or Control Wildlife Populations – Traps, snares, and poisons were banned in neighboring Colorado (statewide) and Arizona (public lands) in the mid-1990s. In those states, cattle depredation rates by wild carnivores are actually lower than in New Mexico. Recent published research confirms that mass trapping of many carnivore species actually increases breeding within the pack due to social structure disruption and results in overall population increase.

SUMMARIES OF KNOWN NEW MEXICO TRAPPING INCIDENTS IN THE ‘20-‘21 TRAPPING SEASON

1. Nov. 14 – Lake Farmington, a Siberian husky named Ivy was trapped, $750 in vet costs
2. Nov. 20 – Santa Teresa, skinned coyote carcass piles found, evidence suggesting a trapper dump site
3. Nov. 21 – Northern Santa Fe County, hikers found a lost dog languishing in a leghold trap; Rescue groupsaved dog named Mahlia and provided costly veterinary treatment including amputation of several toes
4. Nov. 26 – Jemez National Recreation Area, a trained search and rescue dog Jessie the Dutch shepherdwas trapped on a hike with her human, experienced swelling and a split nail on her foot.
5. Dec. 2 – Bernardo, a quail hunter’s German shorthair pointer was trapped during a hunt, minor injuries
6. Dec. 17 – Santa Fe Nat’l Forest, heeler named Cruzer trapped, couldn’t put weight on bruised leg
7. Dec. 30 – Rowe Mesa, dog Nelli trapped while her human was collecting wood
8. Jan. 6 – Rio Rancho, concerned citizens reported a coyote limping with a trap attached to his foot
9. Jan. 11 – Lincoln Nat’l Forest, Tooli was trapped while hiking on forest road and was difficult to release
10. Jan. 23 – Caja del Rio Plateau: hiker came upon skinned bobcats presumably dumped by area trapper
11. Jan. 26 – Dixon: German shepherd named Ceniza found choking in a neck snare in a nearby arroyo.
12. Feb. 2 – Dixon: 10-yr-old heeler/shepherd caught in two leghold traps in an arroyo in northern foothills

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

Amigos Bravos, Animal Protection Voters, Born Free USA, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Voters New Mexico, Defenders of Wildlife, Endangered Species Coalition, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, Mountain Lion Foundation, New Mexico Wild, Project Coyote, Sandia Mountain Bear Watch, Sierra Club, Southwest Environmental Center, TrapFree New Mexico, WildEarth Guardians, Wildlife Conservation Advocacy Southwest.

The post SUPPORT SENATE BILL 32 Wildlife Conservation & Public Safety Act – “Roxy’s Law” appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

My entire life, identity and work has centered around New Mexico’s incredible array of public lands and the diverse wildlife inhabiting those lands. We New Mexicans are truly blessed. It’s no surprise that so many of us, including myself, flock to the soul-nourishing outdoors seeking respite from the pandemic.

Our public lands, and the wildlife they support, are integral to New Mexico’s culture, history, ecosystems and economy. They are the present and future of a sustainable outdoor recreation economy. They anchor functioning ecosystems. And without wildlife, these landscapes are much-diminished.

I’m a third-generation hunter and angler, and I feed my family with the fish and game I harvest each year. One activity I do not partake in nor support on public lands is trapping. Trapping is a leftover from a bygone era when commercial hunting and trapping decimated wildlife populations. Current laws allow trappers to place unlimited numbers of traps on public lands and take unlimited numbers of furbearing species under minimal regulations to sell their pelts in commercial markets.

Both New Mexico law, which prohibits the sale of game animals taken by hunters, and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation – held in high esteem by many wildlife managers and sportsmen like myself – wisely prohibit commercial exploitation of wildlife today. Trapping remains a rare and inexplicable exception, putting our own enjoyment of wildlife and public lands at risk.

The fatal flaw with traps and snares on public lands is that they all have the potential to indiscriminately catch, maim or kill wildlife and domestic pets that are not intended to be caught. A prime example are the 43 critically endangered Mexican wolves accidently trapped in New Mexico since 2002. Many wolves suffered amputations or death due to the traps. The potential for mismanagement of wildlife populations and increased mishaps with pet owners is simply too great to continue utilizing trapping as a legitimate method of wildlife stewardship.

There are specific instances where individual animals are causing serious and possibly life- or property-threatening damage or depredation. There are also specific instances where state or federal wildlife managers are trying to re-introduce threatened or endangered species and need to control species adversely impacting reintroduction efforts. In these special cases, wildlife professionals should still use certain types of trapping – if deemed absolutely necessary – on a limited basis.

But statewide commercial fur trapping on our public lands undermines every hunter, hiker, angler, backpacker, wildlife watcher – every other safe and prosperous use of public lands.

New Mexico’s diverse wildlife enlivens our landscapes. Native species keep plant and wildlife communities in balance. They clean our water and recycle nutrients in our soils. Wildlife populates the stories that we tell our kids and the legends around which we build our cultures. Hunters and anglers ethically take carefully managed game species with reverence so that we can have meat in our freezers, but not money in our pockets. Wildlife is there for all New Mexicans to enjoy, whether we see and hear them or we simply benefit from their quiet work to make our ecosystems function.

The widescale, unlimited trapping and killing of native species runs counter to all of this. And when a few people stand to profit at the expense of the whole, that is wrong, undemocratic and unjust.

The day of recreational trapping in my mind should come to an end in New Mexico. As an avid hunter and conservationist, the only purpose trapping serves is to give a black eye to sportsmen’s and sportswomen’s reputations. I want the court of public opinion to view us as ethical, humane and responsible.

That’s why I support state legislation called “Roxy’s Law,” Senate Bill 32, which would restrict private commercial use of traps and snares on public lands, and help not only protect people, but also the health of our ecosystems.

Trapping simple doesn’t fit into New Mexico’s future. It’s time for Roxy’s Law to pass.

Read the Guest Column in the Albuquerque Journal »

The post It’s time to end trapping in New Mexico appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.