News & Updates

Roxy’s Law is working!

Roxy’s Law is working!

TrapFree New Mexico, our partners, and thousands of New Mexicans worked for years to make public lands in our state safer for people, pets, and native wildlife. Finally, Roxy’s Law was enacted in 2021 and implemented in 2022. Since then, there has been a stark decline...

Dog survives brink of death run-in with potentially illegal snare

Dog survives brink of death run-in with potentially illegal snare

ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — Española Humane workers never know what’s going to come through their doors, but Wednesday brought an unusually rare case. “Almost unrecognizable as a dog,” said Mattie Allen, director of communications for Española Humane. “It’s pretty shocking to...

In a win for animals, California’s ban on fur officially takes effect

In a win for animals, California’s ban on fur officially takes effect

Californians can now officially celebrate the end of fur sales in the Golden State. A statewide ban on the sale of new animal fur products went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, making California the first state in the U.S. to implement such a ban. Its citizens have waited...

Bye-Bye, Trapping on Public Land in New Mexico

Bye-Bye, Trapping on Public Land in New Mexico

Mary Katherine Ray helped outlaw traps in her state 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...

Roxy’s Law now in effect on New Mexico public lands 🐕

Dear Friends of TrapFree New Mexico, Thanks to the contributions of thousands of TrapFree New Mexico supporters, November 1, 2022 marks the beginning of a very different and vastly diminished wildlife trapping season in New Mexico. For the first time ever, all public...

Trapping ban to take effect on public lands in New Mexico

Trapping ban to take effect on public lands in New Mexico

It will be illegal to use wildlife traps, snares and poison on public lands across New Mexico under a ban that takes effect Friday. New Mexico is joining a handful of Western states that have limited trapping on public lands, with supporters saying the move will help...

Roxy’s Law Banning Traps, Snares, and Poisons on New Mexico Public Lands Goes Into Effect

Roxy’s Law Banning Traps, Snares, and Poisons on New Mexico Public Lands Goes Into Effect

Dear TrapFree New Mexico Friend, 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...

New Mexico Teeters on Edge of a New Era of CoExistence: Trapping Ban on Public Lands Goes into Effect April 1

On April 1, Roxy’s Law—a ban on trapping on New Mexico public lands more than a decade in the making—goes into effect after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed it last year. Nearly 32 million acres of public lands, including state-owned parcels, national forests, and...

Finally, recreate safely with no harmful traps on public lands

BY JESSICA JOHNSON / CHIEF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS OFFICER, ANIMAL PROTECTION VOTERS 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...

Trapping ban to take effect on public lands in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – It will be illegal to use wildlife traps, snares and poison on public lands across New Mexico under a ban that takes effect Friday. New Mexico is joining less than a handful of Western states in either prohibiting or limiting trapping on public lands,...

Roxy’s Law a win, but wildlife governance needs reform

Traps, snares and poisons are lethal devices that have inflicted serious harm on people, pets and wildlife across the state for a very long time. But, fortunately, times are changing. The Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, also known as “Roxy’s Law” – named...

Roxy’s Law makes public lands safer — now reform Game and Fish

Traps, snares and poisons are lethal devices that have inflicted serious harm on people, pets and wildlife across the state for a very long time. But fortunately, times are changing. The Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, also known as “Roxy’s Law” — named...

Roxy’s anti-trapping legacy greater than botched trial

Roxy’s anti-trapping legacy greater than botched trial

BY JESSICA JOHNSON / CHIEF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS OFFICER, ANIMAL PROTECTION NEW MEXICO AND ANIMAL PROTECTION VOTERS | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH, 2021 AT 12:02AM Roxy – the beloved dog killed by a neck snare in 2018 while hiking with her family – may not have received...

Not guilty verdict aside, Roxy’s Law still matters

The trapper accused of killing Roxy, a Northern New Mexico cattle dog who was strangled to death in a snare near Santa Cruz Lake, recently was found not guilty. The verdict was immensely disappointing. It feels like justice slipped through the cracks, alongside the...

ABQ Journal Editorial: To catch criminals, trapping ban needs real follow-through

Beginning in April, it will be illegal to use traps, snares and wildlife poison on public lands in New Mexico. That’s one positive outcome from the tragic death of an Española dog name Roxy — but it’s hard to be optimistic about the new law’s ability to be effective....

Tradition is no excuse for abuse

Tradition is no excuse for abuse

Traps and snares are lethal devices that pose a real threat to people, pets and wildlife on public lands. That fact was made tragically clear when a dog named Roxy was strangled to death in a snare at a popular New Mexico recreation area in 2018. Senate Bill 32,...

Man whose trapping inspired ‘Roxy’s Law’ found not guilty on all counts

Man whose trapping inspired ‘Roxy’s Law’ found not guilty on all counts

A Chimayó man accused of setting a snare trap that caused the death of a dog named Roxy, which sparked a law outlawing trapping on public lands, has been found not guilty on all charges related to the 2018 incident. “It’s a sense of relief, obviously,” Marty Cordova...

Trapper acquitted in case that inspired anti-trapping law

Chimayó trapper Marty Cordova was acquitted by a jury this week of 10 counts of illegal trapping, three years after state officials alleged that he set a snare that strangled a dog near Española, his attorney said Thursday. The death of the dog, named Roxy, attracted...

nm ziaKnow Your NM State Legislators!

Your New Mexico state Senator and Representative have the power to ban traps, snares and poisons on public lands. Find out who they are and let them know you oppose trapping on public lands. A simple phone call and email can make all the difference.

FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS →

People's Forum Panel Report on Public Lands Trapping

The New Mexico Legislature should ban trapping on public lands in New Mexico because traps harm people, animal companions, and whole populations of wildlife including rare species. Most New Mexican voters believe that trapping is cruel and unnecessary.

Read the Report »