“Roxy’s Law is doing exactly what New Mexicans hoped it would,” said Chris Smith, southwest wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Fewer native wildlife are being brutally killed for private profit and public lands are now safer for New Mexicans and visitors to recreate on with their pets.”

Recently released data from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish shows a clear decrease in wildlife killed by trappers since the implementation of Roxy’s Law, which bans commercial and recreational trapping across New Mexico public lands.

TrapFree New Mexico has worked diligently to track when New Mexicans and their pets encounter traps on public lands. We collect stories of trap encounters, track media articles, and even have an interactive map of all trapping incidents known to us. Since Roxy’s Law went into effect, negative trapping experiences have dropped to near zero.

The post Roxy’s Law is working! appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

“Almost unrecognizable as a dog,” said Mattie Allen, director of communications for Española Humane. “It’s pretty shocking to see a dog come in that is clearly strangulated.”

Rio Arriba County Animal Control officers brought in a seven-month-old puppy with a severely swollen head and an undeniable snare around his neck. The puppy was having a hard time breathing.

A good Samaritan called officers when they saw the dog running just north of Española.

“Fortunately, for this dog, he was able to actually pull the cable from whatever it was attached to and break himself free,” said Allen.

A vet team was able to sedate the dog and cut off the snare.

Two days later, the little guy, temporarily known as Muffin, is looking good as new.

But the incident raises questions about New Mexico’s trapping laws.

“The problem with these snares is that they’re indiscriminate. When you set a snare like that you can trap anything it does not discriminate what type of living being is getting strangled by this thing,” said Allen.

Roxy’s law went into effect last April in New Mexico, making it illegal to use traps, snares, or poisons to capture, hurt, or kill an animal on public lands. It doesn’t apply to private land.

Officers don’t know where exactly Muffin got caught, but advocates say they hope all property owners think twice about snares.

“I do hope that people are not setting these snares to trap dogs,” said Allen.  “It could be any type of wildlife, it could be a cat, it could be your family’s dog, it could be a kid. And it will go around a head and a neck, a foot, a hand, a paw, it doesn’t discriminate.”

Española Humane is taking suggestions for Muffin’s permanent name on its social media pages.

He’s getting neutered and up-to-date on shots and will be up for adoption soon.

Read this article on KOB.com

The post Dog survives brink of death run-in with potentially illegal snare appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

“Che was having a walk as always at my chalet, and he got trapped,” said the constitutional lawyer. “I would say he was very close to dying because those are instruments to kill an animal, obviously.”

When Berard posted the account of his dog’s injury on Facebook, other pet owners began sharing their equally troubling stories.

“I received so many testimonies mentioning the same story again and again and again, and I realized it’s not an anecdote, it’s a phenomenon and we need to regulate that to stop that,” said Berard. “In 2023, we’re better than that in Quebec.”

The damage done to animals caught in traps is often severe.

“We’ve seen animals come in with muscle tears through their legs, and we’ve had to try to suture them back together,” said animal health technician Alexandra Yaksich. “We’ve seen animals come in that have been in these traps for days at a time, so they start to get very serious bacterial infections in their paws and going up their arms, and sometimes the only thing you can do in that case is amputate the arm.”

Yaksich said the physical damage to the pet is written all over the face of the pet’s owners.

“Often, the witnessing of such horrific images, especially when it’s your own animal, to see muscle exposed, lots of blood, that’s very traumatizing,” she said. “Often we hear from clients that they have dreams about it, and they’re still thinking about it years after it happened.”

Read this article in CTV News Montreal | Sign the Petition on Change.org

The post ‘He was very close to dying’: Dog owner calls for Quebec ban on leg hold traps appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

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 

The post Trapping ban to take effect on public lands in New Mexico appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for: Roxy’s Law (the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act) went into effect this morning, making the vast majority of all traps, snares, and poisons illegal on approximately 32 million acres of New Mexico public lands.

This journey began in 2004 and many of you have been with us for years if not the entirety. You have shared trapping stories, written letters to the editor, liked Facebook posts, talked to your friends and neighbors, collected petition signatures, waited for hours at legislative hearings, and been the stubborn advocates this world needs.

In short, you have helped shepherd in a new era for the Land of Enchantment, one that values our native wildlife for their ecological and intrinsic value rather than a paltry price for pelts. You have helped redefine humans’ relationship with wildlife and ushered in an era that regards public lands as a place for recreation and solace, not exploitation and danger.

And you’ve lent your voice to the voiceless wildlife that have, until now, been killed by the thousands every year for private profit.

We may need you to raise your voice again. But for now, we can rejoice in and on New Mexico’s trap-free public lands!

Sincerely,

The TrapFree New Mexico Family

The post Roxy’s Law Banning Traps, Snares, and Poisons on New Mexico Public Lands Goes Into Effect appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

Along with Roxy’s Law, New Mexico has recently taken other meaningful steps toward protecting wildlife. In 2019, the state banned gruesome coyote-killing contests, events that reward indiscriminate and senseless massacres. Currently, the state is rolling out its plan for projects to protect wildlife from vehicle collisions along heavily used movement and migration corridors.

These are signs of a new era across the Land of Enchantment. An era in which coexistence is the norm, exploitation and cruelty are waning, and native foxes, bobcats, beavers, badgers, and wolves are revered for their ecological roles and honored for their intrinsic value, not persecuted as inconveniences. We are leaving behind nearly two hundred years of primarily viewing wildlife as merely something to slaughter and sell.

Still, New Mexico isn’t yet the beacon of wildlife management that it should be:

+ A memorial urging the federal government to tackle the biodiversity crisis died without a vote on the state Senate floor last month.

+ Our Game Commission has been a merry-go-round as the governor appoints and fires commissioners at her whim. Yet she has let a year elapse since the tragic passing of David Soules without appointing anyone to the conservation position on the commission. Without stability on the commission, it’s unclear where needed leadership will come from.

+ The state is still on record opposing Mexican wolf restoration in the Southern Rockies, where lobos belong and where scientists say they need to live in order to fully recover.

Congress seems poised to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (“RAWA,” co-sponsored by Sen. Heinrich), which could provide funding to states to protect nongame wildlife. But our wildlife agency doesn’t even have the authority to manage or protect many species, including the Gunnison’s prairie dog, the Rio Grande sucker, and 23 of New Mexico’s 26 bat species, just to name a few. And they don’t want that responsibility; they want to continue to focus on the fraction of animals that are pursued and killed by sportsmen.

RAWA could be the inflection point New Mexico needs. Bold leadership is required to modernize the Department of Game and Fish. So, let’s remember there’s a lot of work still to do and progress to be made:

+ We need a comprehensive state wildlife agency more invested in protecting all wildlife, not focused only on game species like elk and nonnative rainbow trout.

+ We need a wildlife agency that sees all New Mexicans as stakeholders, not one that caters only to the minority of New Mexicans, who, like me, buy hunting and fishing licenses.

+ We need a wildlife agency with the authority, will, and revenue to manage and protect the many wildlife species in our state.

Roxy’s Law alone is worth celebrating, of course. But it also represents a critical marker on New Mexico’s path to reimagining how we perceive and live with the wildlife that makes this place special. Let’s take the next step and push for a state wildlife agency that serves all the people and wildlife of New Mexico.

Chris Smith is the Southern Rockies Wildlife Advocate with WildEarth Guardians. 

Read this article in Counterpunch »

The post New Mexico Teeters on Edge of a New Era of CoExistence: Trapping Ban on Public Lands Goes into Effect April 1 appeared first on TrapFree New Mexico.

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.

New Mexico is joining less than a handful of Western states in either prohibiting or limiting 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.

Read this article in the Las Cruces Sun News »

The post Trapping ban to take effect on public lands in New Mexico 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 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.