News & Updates
Leg-Hold Traps Are Killing Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves
Defenders of Wildlife has learned that four more Mexican gray wolves were trapped in New Mexico on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service over the last two months. Two of these wolves are from the Prieto Pack an all four trapping incidents occurred in New Mexico. At...
APNewsBreak: Mexican wolves caught in traps in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The death of a Mexican gray wolf and injuries to another prompted environmentalists on Tuesday to call on New Mexico lawmakers to ban trapping on public land. Defenders of Wildlife said four wolves have been caught in traps in New Mexico over...
Officers charge Chimayó man in case that prompted ‘Roxy’s Law’ bill
State Game and Fish Department officers have charged a Chimayó man with more than 30 criminal counts in connection with illegal trapping — a case spurred by an investigation into how an Española man’s dog had been killed by an illegal snare trap at Santa Cruz Lake....
Indiscriminate traps kill, injure endangered Mexican wolves, impeding recovery
Five lobos have been trapped since Nov. 2018 For immediate release February 13, 2019 Contacts: Christopher Smith, WildEarth Guardians, 505-395-6177, Kelly Nokes, Western Environmental Law Center, 575-613-8051, Jessica...
Endangered wolves being caught in traps in New Mexico
The death of a Mexican gray wolf and injuries to another prompted environmentalists on Tuesday to call on New Mexico lawmakers to ban trapping on public land. Defenders of Wildlife said four wolves have been caught in traps in New Mexico over the past two months. The...
Telling the scientific truth about coyotes
Eva Woods’ op-ed (“Legislators, listen to agricultural, rural experts,” Looking In, Jan. 29) about coyotes is replete with scientific errors and largely ignores the substantial body of scientific literature on the biology and ecology of coyotes. If we cannot agree...
How bobcats, coyotes, and foxes help my farm
Read the article in In Light of Nature »
NM lawmakers consider ban on trapping wildlife on public land
SANTA FE, N.M. - Supporters and opponents of HB 366, the Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act, packed into the House committee room at the Roundhouse. The bill would ban trapping wildlife on public land. HB 366 was heard in its first House committee on Thursday...
Measure would ban trapping
After hearing nearly 2½ hours of often passionate public comment from dozens of people both for and against a bill that would make it illegal to trap, snare or poison wildlife on public lands, the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday...
Bill to make wildlife trapping illegal draws huge crowd
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - As lawmakers consider banning all animal trappings on public lands, the proposal drew in a huge crowd at the Roundhouse. Critics claim it's inhumane to wildlife and that both legal and illegal traps are injuring pets, even people. Thursday...
Trapping bill highlights state’s urban-rural divide
Mary Katherine Ray has seen traps up close. One caught the leg of her dog Greta while they were hiking. “I will never forget the sound of Greta’s screaming,” Ray told a New Mexico legislative committee on Thursday. It was a story lawmakers heard over and over again —...
The Trapping Bill Committee Hearing is Scheduled!
HB 366 the WILDLIFE PROTECTION & PUBLIC SAFETY ACT Committee Hearing on Thursday, February 7 at 8 AM - NOTE: ARRIVE BY 7 AM TO GET A SEAT IN THE HEARING ROOM The bill to ban traps and poisons is set to be heard in the House Energy, Environment & Natural...
Bill to Ban Traps on Public Lands Introduced!
Dear TrapFree New Mexico Friends, We are delighted to announce that a bill to prohibit traps and poisons on New Mexico public lands has been introduced into the state legislature! HB 366, the WILDLIFE PROTECTION & PUBLIC SAFETY ACT, is being sponsored...
Make sure fewer animals suffer and die
By John Horning, Executive Director, WildEarth Guardians It’s always fitting to reflect on the life of Martin Luther King Jr., but even more so this time of year. I keep returning to his letter from the Birmingham jail. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice...
Another New Mexico dog injured in leghold trap
SANTA FE—Fibel was brought into the Santa Fe Animal Shelter “cut, bruised, and swollen” after having been found in a leghold trap on January 6. According to a Santa Fe County Sheriff report, Fibel “had been causing problems” for an Edgewood man “and had been going...
Trapping Has No Place
Letter to the Editor Rio Grande Sun, Española, NM January 24, 2019 You may have read how Roxy the dog died in a snare set on a trail at the Bureau of Land Management’s Santa Cruz Lake recreation area. Roxy’s heartbroken owner had to carry his friend’s lifeless body...
Another dog injured in leghold trap
For Immediate Release January 25, 2019 Contacts: Christopher Smith, WildEarth Guardians, 505-395-6177, Mary Katherine Ray, Rio Grande Chapter Sierra Club, 575-772-5655 Another dog injured in leghold trap Fibel “had...
Ruidoso News: Trapping ban sought on public lands
Billboard makes the case against trapping on public land as legislators meet to debate bill Drivers in Albuquerque and Las Cruces are confronting a brutal reality about wildlife management in New Mexico thanks to a series of billboards, bus shelter ads and bus banners...
Albuquerque Journal Letters: Readers protest trapping and want it banned on NM’s public lands
Reps. Chandler, Gonzales, McQueen Co-Sponsoring Bill to Protect Native Wildlife and Companion Animals
Drivers in Albuquerque and Las Cruces are confronting a brutal reality about wildlife management in New Mexico thanks to a series of billboards, bus shelter ads, and bus banners recently unveiled by WildEarth Guardians. The billboards feature a bobcat in a steel...
Dog inspires legislation to ban trapping
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A bill aiming to outlaw traps, snares and poison on public lands will be introduced to the legislature next week. It’s called Roxy’s Law. It’s named after a dog who died while trapped in a snare last year. The Trap-Free New Mexico coalition wants to...
Another trap victim dies
From Argos, A Shelter Dog Rescue January 12 at 8:57 AM "It is with a very heavy heart and many tears that we had to say goodbye to Ranger this morning. Ranger was brought into Argos on 1/10/19 by some very caring and loving folks. This sweet old soul was another...
TrapFree New Mexico billboards in Albuquerque and Las Cruces
Albuquerque Journal Editorial: Let this latest trapping death of a pet be NM’s last
It’s barbaric. It’s dangerous. It’s archaic and a practice whose time has come and gone. Yet unlike too many of its victims, trapping is alive and well in New Mexico. There are those who hope to change that – including a dog owner who recently saw his beloved pet...
Know 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.
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.
TrapFree Friends
Animal Protection Voters
Black Bear Bureau
Footloose Montana
Fur Free Alliance
Furbearer Defenders
League of Humane Voters
Lobos of the Southwest
Mercy for Animals
National Urban Wildlife Coalition
No Cruel Traps on Public Lands
People's Forum Panel on New Mexico Public Lands Trapping
Predator Defense
Project Coyote
Pulling for Life
TrailSafe Nevada
Trap Free Montana
TrapFree Oregon
Wyoming Untrapped