With warmer weather, many of us are reaching for our hiking boots, backpacks, and dog leashes – and we can finally breathe a little easier. That’s because, as of April 1, 2022, we have entered a new era of safe and humane enjoyment of New Mexico’s public lands.

After nearly two decades of work by Animal Protection Voters, allies and grassroots advocates to lobby our state government to restrict the wanton use of traps, snares and poisons, the Wildlife Conservation & Public Safety Act was passed and signed into law in 2021.

Nicknamed “Roxy’s Law” after a dog named Roxy who died in a neck snare during a hike with her family, the new state law prohibits all traps – including leghold traps, “Conibear” body-gripping traps and cage traps – snares, and wildlife poisons on public lands, except when the activity meets a narrow set of exceptions listed in the law. Learn more about the law at TrapsDontBelong.org.

New Mexico now has one of the strongest restrictions on traps, snares and poisons in the country – and for very good reason.

The outdoor recreation industry is an important segment of New Mexico’s economic future, relying considerably on shared use of public lands. Every story told by residents or tourists about their dogs being caught or killed in traps, or about finding suffering or dead wildlife in traps, was a black mark on that future. By the time “Roxy’s Law” was signed into law, our coalition collected roughly 150 reports of terrifying incidents, illegal trapping citations and endangered species captured on public lands.

Wildlife are a crucial part of New Mexico’s ecosystem. The limitless destruction of thousands of wild animals every year, using painful and lethal implements left unattended on public land, no longer fits with modern conservation science and notions of humane wildlife management.

Finally, the use of traps, snares and poisons as a hobby, to profit from the fur trade or as a haphazard way to extinguish animals perceived as a nuisance is simply cruel. Causing an animal unnecessary suffering is unacceptable, especially when more humane alternatives are available.

“Roxy’s Law,” like any law, is only as strong as it is enforced – and all New Mexicans will benefit from a collective awareness of the law and a determination to see it enforced.

• If you find a trap, snare or poison on public land: Note the location and, if possible, take photos. But do not tamper with, remove or destroy the device without authorization. Doing so could be dangerous and would be illegal if the device is allowed under a Roxy’s Law exception.
• If you suspect the device may be illegal, report it to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Only they can investigate an incident, determine illegality, file charges and prosecute violations.
• Call the Animal Cruelty Helpline at 1-877-5-HUMANE (1-877-548-6263). Helpline staff will document the incident and work with you to contact or follow up with law enforcement.

The passage of “Roxy’s Law” was only possible because the majority of New Mexicans persistently pushed for safer, more humane public lands. And the next time you wander along a trail or toward a scenic overlook, with your dog safely in tow, without worry about a trap, snare or poison lurking underfoot – remember to thank the state policymakers who answered the call to action.

For more information, go to apvnm.org

Read this article in the Albuquerque Journal »

The post Finally, recreate safely with no harmful traps on public lands appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

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 »

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New Mexico’s public lands are a treasure trove of opportunity for our state. They are cherished by all and an asset to our state’s future. And public lands will be even more important as New Mexico’s post-pandemic economic recovery will be aided in large part by our burgeoning outdoor recreation industry and strong tourism industry. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham brings the vision and leadership to make that effort a great success.

But story after story, year after year, has revealed a persistent, lurking problem on our public lands. Maya Anthony was 17 years old when a family outing on national forest land near her home in San Cristobal was cut short after her dog, Joker, was caught in a leg-hold trap. Panicked and in pain, the dog struggled and lashed out while his family tried to rescue him – leading to a deep puncture wound on Maya’s arm, and a laceration on her mother Nina’s leg. Unable to free the dog, Maya drove down the canyon to fetch her father at home for help, and he returned with towels to hold over the dog’s head while they released Joker’s paw. After about a half hour of suffering in the trap, Joker’s foot was free and thankfully healed after a few days – but Maya temporarily lost full motion of her arm and required a round of antibiotics to stave off infection.

After this incident, Maya swore to advocate to stop trapping on public lands, and her advocacy led to the first introduction of legislation to address this problem in 2013. Almost a decade later, Senate Bill 32 has passed the New Mexico Legislature and now awaits the governor’s signature to become law.

As co-sponsors of Senate Bill 32, the Wildlife Conservation & Public Safety Act a.k.a. Roxy’s Law, we come to this subject matter with unique perspectives but have arrived at the same conclusion: It is time to end private recreational and profit-driven use of traps, snares and poisons on public lands in New Mexico. We are ready to put stories like Maya’s – and Roxy’s, the dog who died in a neck snare on public land in 2018 – in the past.

In this very moment, New Mexico has an opportunity to recommit to progressive, science-based, forward-thinking wildlife conservation. We can stop sabotaging our endangered species conservation efforts with accidental trapping injuries and deaths of Mexican gray wolves. As climate change continues to alter our land and water, we can renew our focus on responsible, thoughtful, humane management of wildlife species. We can join our neighbors of Colorado and Arizona as one of multiple states in the West who have removed hobby and commercial trapping from our public lands.

New Mexico is home to landscapes that provide unparalleled opportunities for hiking, backpacking, hunting, biking, rock climbing and more. We are home to millions of acres of richly biodiverse habitats, with unique native wildlife and endangered species populations that draw visitors hoping to watch birds, hear wolves and turn nature’s beauty into art. New Mexico’s outdoor recreation economy is growing faster than the overall state economy, and that is something we can leverage to benefit our urban and rural communities alike and support our home-grown businesses.

Thanks to our public lands, the future looks bright for New Mexico. Traps, snares and poisons have led to too many tragic endings. New Mexicans stand ready to tell a new story on our public lands – one of leadership in conservation, community, and green economic opportunities. By signing Senate Bill 32 into law, Gov. Lujan Grisham’s pen starts that new story for us all.

Read this Guest Column in the Albuquerque Journal »

The post Guest Column: Ending traps on public land starts NM’s outdoor future appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

The measure stills need House approval and lawmakers have less than two weeks remaining in the legislative session. Environmentalists and animal advocacy groups have said New Mexico needs to join neighboring states and ban what they described as a cruel and outdated practice.

But rural residents and wildlife conservation officers have said that trapping remains an important tool for managing wildlife and protecting livestock. New Mexico already has taken some steps to rein in the practice. The state Game Commission last year adopted changes that call for trappers to complete an education course and imposed restrictions on setting traps and snares around designated trailheads and on select tracts of public lands to reduce the trap hazards to hikers and pets.

But supporters of the legislation have said several dogs have been injured despite the new rules and that more should be done to ensure public safety, especially because New Mexico is pushing to promote outdoor recreation.

Under the legislation, violations of the proposed trapping ban would be misdemeanors, punishable by fines of up to $1,000 and/or jail time of less than one year. Each individual trap, snare or application of poison would constitute a single violation, and a court could require restitution to be paid to the state’s wildlife management agency.

Read/view this article on KRQE.com »

The post New Mexico ban on traps and wildlife poisons clears Senate appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Contacts:
Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, 505-395-6177, csmith@wildearthguardians.org
Jessica Johnson, Animal Protection Voters, 505-220-6656, jessica@apvnm.org

Senate Bill 32, AKA “Roxy’s Law,” advances to the House

SANTA FE, N.M.—Today by a vote of 23 to 16, the New Mexico State Senate passed Senate Bill 32, the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, aka “Roxy’s Law.”

Senate Bill 32 makes critical strides towards protecting all those who enjoy the outdoors, humans and animals, by prohibiting traps, snares, and poisons on public lands (with a few important exemptions). The bipartisan vote demonstrated strong legislative backing for a bill that is supported by the majority of New Mexicans, from hunters and nature enthusiasts to dog walkers and park visitors.

Bill sponsor Senator Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales (D—Ranchos de Taos) said, “With the passage of SB 32, New Mexico is helping to protect outdoor enthusiasts, wildlife, companion animals, and all New Mexicans who use public lands. Economic growth and stability come from increased, safe outdoor recreation and other activities on public lands. The dangerous methods of trapping, snaring, and poisoning on public lands have kept us from moving forward like we should and now we are at a point that our neighboring states have enacted similar bills, making them more likely to benefit from outdoor dollars. I am proud to sponsor Senate Bill 32 so that we can move forward in prosperity and in protecting our animals and people.”

Senator Brenda McKenna (D-Corrales) said, “I am proud to be a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 32—alongside Senator Bobby Gonzales, Representative Matthew McQueen, and Representative Christine Chandler and thank my colleagues for their votes in support of the bill. We as a society can no longer condone the barbaric practice of using traps, snares, and poisons on public lands. I have, for years, supported outlawing usage of these cruel methods, especially since I myself once purchased a leghold trap for under $20 and could not open it without carefully using my feet. Imagine trying to free a pet or yourself under highly stressful and incredibly painful circumstances! I look forward to stewarding this bill through to the Governor’s desk, to protect the animals of the state and so we can all enjoy the outdoors in New Mexico.”

Traps, snares, and poisons are not just archaic and cruel, they are also indiscriminate, killing any creature unlucky enough to get too close to them. These victims include not just the fur-bearing or destructive wildlife the devices are nominally set to ensnare but also companion animals like Roxy, the beloved dog who in 2018 was strangled to death in front of her human. Since the 2020-2021 trapping season began, at least 9 dogs been caught in privately set traps and snares on public land. The most recent incidents occurred near Abeyta, Pecos, Rowe Mesa, Cloudcroft, and Dixon and don’t include the unknown numbers who are not reported or tragically never found.

SB 32 will also save untold numbers of endangered wildlife. Nearly 150,000 native creatures have been killed by private trappers since 2008 including the endangered Mexican gray wolf called Mia Tuk who was caught in a trap and bludgeoned to death by a trapper in 2015. Two wolves have been injured in traps in New Mexico in the past 6 months.

“It’s past time this archaic mass killing ended,” said Chris Smith, southern Rockies wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Public lands should be safe, wildlife should be respected, people should not be afraid to take their dogs or children on a hike. The solution is simple—the House now needs to follow the Senate’s example.”

“Traps are like landmines, catching and harming any creature unlucky enough to step on them,” said Kevin Bixby, executive director of the Southwest Environmental Center. “It’s time to get them off our public lands.”

“As a wildlife biologist, I can say definitely that trapping is not a legitimate form of wildlife management,” said Michelle Lute, PhD, national carnivore conservation manager for Project Coyote. “Our public lands and the wildlife that live on them must be protected from such cruel and wanton waste.”

“No one who visits our public lands should be subjected to finding suffering wildlife in traps or the trauma of their own beloved dog being harmed,” said Mary Katherine Ray, Wildlife Chair of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, who has experienced the anguish of both.

“New Mexico Wild Action Fund believes that wildlife is held in public trust for the protection and continued enjoyment of all New Mexicans and should not be commercialized. We applaud Senators Gonzales and McKenna and Representatives McQueen and Chandler for their efforts to end the practice of trapping on our public lands,” said Mark Allison, Executive Director of New Mexico Wild Action Fund.

Animal Protection Voters’ Chief Government Affairs Officer, Jessica Johnson, noted, “New Mexicans overwhelmingly agree that it is past time for New Mexico to join our neighboring states of Colorado and Arizona and say goodbye to traps, snares, and poisons on the public lands we share. Let’s not wait for more or bigger tragedies to happen before taking action.”

“Mexican gray wolves are the most endangered subspecies of gray wolf in the world. Despite steady population growth over the past 20 years, trapping continues to hinder our ability to recover this important species,” says Michael Dax, New Mexico representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “The time has come to get traps off our public lands.”

“Trapping on public lands is indiscriminate and an ineffective tool for wildlife management, killing thousands of unintended animals instead of targeted predators; it’s primary motive is private profit from a public trust resource,” said Greg Peters, Public Lands & Wildlife Advocate for Conservation Voters New Mexico. “By ending trapping on our public lands, we will make them safer for NM residents and NM wildlife – creating more equitable access to nature while benefiting our local outdoor economy.”

“Today’s vote gives us hope that very soon, rare and beautiful animals will no longer fall victim to cruel and indiscriminate leghold traps and strangulation snares,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity in Silver City. “These killing devices should never have been allowed on public lands.”

Senate Bill 32 will now cross over to the House of Representatives, where it will be championed by co-sponsors Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo) and Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos).

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The post Majority of NM Senate agrees with majority of New Mexicans, says no more traps, snares, and poisons on public lands appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

New Mexicans have worked hard over the years to do right by the animals in our state. We have banned cockfighting, horse tripping and coyote-killing contests. We have made dog fighting a fourth-degree felony. We have created a dedicated funding stream for low-cost spay and neuter services.

And now it is time we finally stop allowing the brutal, indiscriminate use of traps on our public lands.

For a paltry $20 permit, members of a small and vocal minority are allowed to litter our amazing public lands with as many leg-hold, body-gripping and cage traps, snares and poisons as they want. There is no limit to the number of animals they can maim and kill. No requirement they take only a certain species or gender or quickly put a suffering animal out of its misery. They can leave their traps unchecked for up to two days as anything suffers in them.

And since Nov. 1, three pet dogs have been caught in these traps (including Jesse, a 2-year-old Dutch shepherd who suffered minimal injuries from a trap in the Jemez National Recreation Area on Thanksgiving, and Mahlia, a black lab who lost many of her toes in a trap in northern Santa Fe County). Meanwhile, a hiker in Doña Ana County found a gruesome pile of more than a dozen skinned coyote carcasses, many with obvious trapping wounds on their legs. A map from TrapFree New Mexico shows incidents of traps catching people, pets and the wrong kind of animal stretch across our national forest, BLM and state trust lands.

Put that on a tourism ad.

The window dressing of “updates” the feckless state Game and Fish Department adopted last year to make trapping more palatable was just that, and real reforms are past due.

Jessica Johnson of Animal Protection Voters New Mexico says that once again, her group and others will advocate for Roxy’s Law, aka the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act. (It is named for family dog Roxy, an 8-year-old blue heeler-mix that strangled to death in a neck snare at Santa Cruz Lake in 2018. Her owner desperately, unsuccessfully, tried to save her.)

Versions of this reasonable legislation died in the 2017 and 2019 legislative sessions, so it is important to emphasize again to lawmakers and the public alike that it:

• Pertains only to public land, not private property.
• Does not affect hunting with firearms, archery, fishing or falconry equipment.
• Still allows trapping of mice, rats, pack rats, gophers, prairie dogs, moles, voles, rock squirrels, birds or fish.
• Provides exceptions for bona fide scientific research as well as government agencies to prevent/mitigate threats to human health and safety and address livestock depredation.
• Allows cage traps to capture wildlife and feral and domesticated animals that cause damage to property, crops or livestock, as well as to recover a domesticated animal or trap-neuter-release a feral animal.
• Exempts members of federally recognized Indian nations, tribes and pueblos for religious or ceremonial purposes.

New Mexico has long been an outlier on trapping. Colorado and California have banned it statewide, and Arizona and Washington have banned it on public land. That’s because they recognize trapping is indiscriminate, cruel, threatens recreationists and tourists, kills our threatened and endangered species (at least eight Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico) and, because there are no bag limits, presents a real threat to our already threatened ecosystem.

Trapping is in no way “New Mexico True.” New Mexico needs to make 2021 the year it adds a ban on trapping on public lands to its important list of successful animal and wildlife legislation.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.

Read this Editorial in the Albuquerque Journal »

The post Albuquerque Journal Editorial: Nothing about traps is New Mexico True appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Many people are surprised to learn that fur trapping—the exploitative relic of the 1800s—still goes on today in our crowded, fragile world. Worse, the steel-jawed devices and wire neck-snares that trappers still use can be hidden on our public lands, including national forests, Bureau of Land Management and state trust lands, where they may harm hikers, wildlife watchers and others. Trappers seek to profit from the capture and killing of the public’s wildlife—animals like bobcats, foxes, coyotes and badgers—by selling their pelts into the international market. But, every year in New Mexico, traps also slam shut on unintended victims: dogs walking with their people, birds like ravens and even endangered species like the Mexican wolf.

So far in only the four weeks that the trapping season has been open in New Mexico this year, three dogs have been ensnared. And those are only the incidents we at TrapFree New Mexico know about. There is no database or official place to report these traumas, so the actual figure is likely much higher.

Sometimes the owners can act quickly and are able to extricate their dog with a minimum of injury, which almost always involves the dog’s screaming in pain, swelling where the trap landed and biting of the rescuers. On Thanksgiving Day, when a hiker’s highly trained search-and-rescue dog was trapped near Jemez Springs, people got her out with difficulty, but after only a short time. Thankfully, the incident occurred on a walk for pleasure, not a search mission.

The weekend before that, hikers stumbled upon a dog that did not belong to them, languishing in a steel leg-trap in northern Santa Fe County. The only way they could tell the dog was still alive was that she blinked when they approached. They were unable to remove the trap and, after giving the animal water and turkey jerky, had to leave it alone overnight before they could get help. Imagine the torment of having to walk away from an animal in agony.

At first light the next morning, a NMDog rescue party made the two-hour hike back to the dog, expecting the worst. Miraculously Mahlia was still alive. She’s going to be okay after several thousand dollars in veterinary expenses that included surgery to amputate the destroyed part of her foot. The trapper is not required to pay these expenses.

In the case of wire neck-snares, the outcome can be much more tragic. In 2018, a hiker held his ensnared dog, Roxy, while she suffocated to death in his arms. He was unable to figure out how to work the release mechanism of the wire crushing her windpipe in time to save her.

That year, a bill was introduced at the state legislature that prohibited the setting of traps and poisons on New Mexico public lands. The bill was fittingly named “Roxy’s law.” It passed both of its House of Representative committees, but did not make it to the floor before the session expired. Similar legislation had been introduced three times previously, but had never progressed even that far.

Surely the time has come to end the awful carnage traps inflict, not just on companion animals, but also on our native wildlife. Despite repeatedly asking the New Mexico State Game Commission to better regulate traps, this past year the commission adopted only an incremental change that increased the distance where a trap can be set near an official trailhead or campground to one half-mile. Traps can still be placed a mere 25 yards from an official trail or road. User-created roads or wildlife trails don’t meet the definition for even that modest restriction.

There are still no bag limits on any “furbearing” species. Trappers can kill an unlimited number of bobcats or foxes or coyotes. This is why a hiker in Doña Ana County was horrified to come across dozens of skinned and dumped coyote carcasses the Friday before Thanksgiving. It looked like a scene from a horror movie. Trapping dismisses the importance these animals have in nature in maintaining the balance of the food web. The attitude that they are expendable is ignorant and arrogant.

Our neighboring state of Arizona passed a measure banning traps and poisons on public lands more than 25 years ago. Colorado to our north adopted a complete statewide ban on these devices a couple of years later. Statewide bans also exist in California and Washington state and a few states in the East. New Mexico depends on tourism revenue, and we are at a distinct disadvantage when we place visitors wishing to explore the Land of Enchantment in harm’s way. Especially now during the pandemic, when being outdoors is one of the safest forms of recreation still available to us, the continuing assault caused by hidden traps is unforgivable.

The legislature meets again in January. Will this be the year our public lands become trap free? You can help to make that happen. Please visit trapfreenm.org to learn more, sign our  petition and contact your state senator and representative. (You can find their names and contact information at www.nmlegis.gov.) Ask them to support Roxy’s law. A hike on our public lands should not end in trauma or tragedy. The animal species that “bear fur” have value to nature far and above their pelt price.

Read the Guest Column in the Sierra County Sun »

The post Sierra County Sun: New Mexico: Land of Entrapment appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

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

The post Albuquerque Journal: Dogs caught in traps rekindle debate in NM appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

The post Outdoor recreationists encounter horrors during the first three weeks of the ‘20-‘21 trapping season appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Contacts:
Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, 505-395-6177, csmith@wildearthguardians.org
Jessica Johnson, Animal Protection Voters, 505-220-6656, jessica@apvnm.org

Private, commercial traps will be hidden across BLM, Forest Service, and State lands until mid-March

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Sunday, November 1^st marks the beginning of the 2020-2021 commercial trapping season in New Mexico. Every year, November 1^st through March 15^th is when “protected furbearers”—species for which at least some regulation on manner or method of trapping exists—can be trapped and killed for pelts and fur, although some “unprotected” species can also be legally trapped year-round. During trapping season, an exponential increase of leghold traps, body-crushing traps, and strangulation snares will be placed on public lands across the state, maiming and killing domestic pets and native wildlife, including endangered species.

Last year, the New Mexico Game Commission made minor changes to the trapping regulations, but left most New Mexicans—especially rural residents—at risk. Trappers are not required to mark or indicate where dangerous traps are located. Further, no changes were made that would mitigate the cruelty experienced by trapped animals, nor stop the unlimited looting and commercial sale of public wildlife parts for private profit.

Every year, the start of trapping season brings up horrible memories for the unfortunate New Mexicans who have experienced the damage caused by traps firsthand.

“It’s almost that time of the year again, when any juniper or cedar on public lands may be used to rig a wire snare that kills pets and wildlife indiscriminately,” said Dave Clark, whose dog Roxy died in a strangulation snare on public lands. “It’s also the time of year when everyone can do something about that. Please consider the values of those for whom you vote.”

“By its very nature, trapping is indiscriminate. Wild species already under pressure suffer, and domestic animals for whom traps are not meant suffer, and sometimes die. Their owners also suffer their untimely and needless loss,” said Carolyn Fletcher, a New Mexico veterinarian. “To what end do we find this worthwhile, New Mexico? The profit of a few doesn’t compensate for the misery endured by many.”

“While there are special cases in which wildlife professionals should be able to use certain types of trapping to protect life, property or threatened or endangered species, recreational trapping, with its potential for mis-management of wildlife populations and mishaps with pet owners, should come to an end,” said Garrett VeneKlasen, northern conservation director with new Mexico Wild and political director of New Mexico Wild Action Fund. “As an avid hunter and conservationist, trapping gives a black eye to sportsmen’s/women’s reputation. I want the court of public opinion to view us as ethical, humane and responsible. Trapping doesn’t fit into this 21st century picture.”

“I’m forever haunted by my dog’s anguished yelps and cries with his paw clamped shut in a tight steel trap. I could not free him because my hands were disabled by freezing cold and bleeding knuckles from trying,” said Kathleen McDonald, whose dog was trapped in the Lincoln National Forest. “The sun was going down and I only had a weak cell signal making it hard to call for the help I needed. Traps are dangerous for animals and people.”

Along with many cases of family pets being injured and even killed in traps, non-target animals like black bears, ravens, and endangered Mexican gray wolves have also been caught and suffered in indiscriminate and cruel traps. Trappers rarely face any consequences for injuring or killing non-target animals. The trapper that killed Roxy, Mr. Clark’s dog, escaped conviction for his illegally set traps.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has no scientific population estimates for furbearers, and sets no limits on how many animals such as foxes, bobcats, beavers, badgers, coyotes, and ringtails a trapper can trap and kill. They are slaughtered freely without limit for private profit even as wildlife populations suffer through drought, climate change, and mass extinction.

Conservation and animal advocacy groups plan to introduce “Roxy’s Law” in the 2021 legislative session. The bill would prohibit private and commercial trapping on public lands across the state with important exemptions for human safety, scientific research, and trapping for tribal ceremonial purposes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made safe access to public lands exceptionally important to New Mexicans. Hidden, indiscriminate traps jeopardize safety and peace-of-mind for outdoor recreators. Trapped wildlife are often skinned on site, with carcasses left to rot in ditches. Arizona and Colorado both largely banned trapping on public lands in the mid 1990s.

Background:

Trapping on public lands is legal in New Mexico. There are no bag limits for furbearer species. The law does not require trap locations to be marked or signed, or for any warnings to be present. No gross receipts tax is levied on fur and pelts sold by trappers. No penalties exist for trappers who unintentionally trap non-target species including endangered species, protected species, domestic animals, pets, humans, or livestock.

No database or official record is kept by any public entity and no requirement exists that trappers report when they have captured a dog in their traps. TrapFree New Mexico has compiled known incidents on an interactive map in the absence of an official catalogue. The pattern these incidents follow is usually similar: dogs screaming and frantically biting at the person desperately trying to rescue them. Veterinary and even human medical treatment along with associated expenses are common, as are long-lasting psychological trauma to both human and animal victims.

The true toll that trapping takes on native wildlife is difficult to assess. Reporting requirements exist for some species, but not for often-trapped so-called “unprotected furbearers” like coyotes and skunks. Reporting accuracy is unverifiable and numbers do not adequately articulate the suffering and carnage that traps wreak on bobcats, foxes, imperiled Mexican gray wolves, coyotes, and other animals.

The almost singular excuse for the above-mentioned incidents is that trapping is necessary to control carnivore populations, but scientific studies do not support this assertion. In fact, scientific studies show that trapping and lethally removing carnivore species, like coyotes, often exacerbate conflicts such as those with livestock (see Using Coyotes to Protect Livestock. Wait. What?, Randy Comeleo, Oregon Small Farm News, Vol. XIII No. 2, p. 2, http://ow.ly/Pj8k30k3wTF (Spring 2018)).

Allowing trapping by a minuscule subset of the population using New Mexico’s public lands directly conflicts with one of the state’s most valuable economic strengths: outdoor recreation. As demonstrated by the recent New Mexico Outdoor Economics Conference in Las Cruces, the outdoor recreation economy in New Mexico is a current and future boon—diversifying and stabilizing the state’s economy while creating 99,000 direct jobs in the process. Outdoor recreation includes hiking, camping, wildlife viewing, hunting, horseback riding, angling, trail running, and bicycling. One study found that the benefits to local economies of a single bobcat alive are approximately 1000 times greater than all combined values from trapping.

Piles of dead animals discarded by public roadways—vividly demonstrating the thousands of wild animals taken from New Mexico’s diverse public landscapes for personal profit—do not bolster the economy or present the state in a beneficial light.

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