This letter was published in the Santa Fe New Mexican on December 10, 2019
New Mexico has a problem with traps on public lands. The ongoing destruction inflicted by hidden, baited, steel jaw traps is well-documented. Public lands users, companion animals and wildlife, including endangered species, continue to suffer the harm from these cruel, indiscriminate devices. In response to this crisis, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has proposed closing 0.5 percent of New Mexico’s public lands to trapping.
This proposed rule change leaves 99.5 percent of public lands at risk. If the Department of Game and Fish is serious about protecting public safety, this closure should be statewide and permanent.
Governance should help us solve problems, not perpetuate them. The majority of New Mexicans do not trap and do not want their wildlife reduced to skinned, rotting carcass piles. When the State Game Commission actively ignores its constituents, there’s a real problem. This is the governor’s appointed State Game Commission. If you don’t like its policies, the governor needs to hear from you: www.governor.state.nm.us/contact-the-governor.
Charles Fox
Santa Fe