News & Updates

Leg-Hold Traps Are Killing Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves

Feb 20, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Endangered Species, HB 366, Mexican wolf, Public Lands, Roxy's Law, Trap Injuries, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste, Wildlife, Wildlife Management

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

Feb 14, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Illegal Trapping, Mexican wolf, Trapping on Public Lands, Wildlife Management

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

Feb 14, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, Dog, HB 366, Illegal Trapping, NM Department of Game and Fish, Public Lands, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands

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

Feb 13, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, HB 366, Mexican wolf, Roxy's Law, Waste, Wildlife

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

Feb 13, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, HB 366, Mexican wolf, Public Lands, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste, Wildlife

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

Feb 10, 2019 | Coyote, Wildlife, Wildlife Killing Contests, Wildlife Management

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

Feb 9, 2019 | Agriculture, Natural rodent control, Wildlife, Wildlife Management

Read the article in In Light of Nature »

NM lawmakers consider ban on trapping wildlife on public land

Feb 8, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, HB 366, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste, Wildlife, Wildlife Management

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

Feb 8, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, Cruelty, Dog, HB 366, Public Lands, Public Opinion, Roxy's Law, Waste, Wildlife Management

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

Feb 8, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Cruelty, HB 366, Public Lands, Public Opinion, Roxy's Law, Trap Injuries, Trapping on Public Lands

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

Feb 8, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Cruelty, Dog, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands, Wildlife Management

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!

Feb 4, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, HB 366, Legislation

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!

Jan 30, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, HB 366, Legislation, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands

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

Jan 27, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Public Lands, Trapping on Public Lands, Wildlife

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

Jan 26, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Dog, Public Lands, Trap Injuries, Trapping on Public Lands

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

Jan 26, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Coyote, Public Lands, Public Opinion, Roxy's Law, Trap Injuries, Trapping on Public Lands

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

Jan 25, 2019 | Dog, Public Lands, Trap Injuries, Trapping on Public Lands

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

Jan 23, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, Trapping is Torture, Trapping 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

Jan 23, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Public Lands, Public Opinion, Trapping on Public Lands

Reps. Chandler, Gonzales, McQueen Co-Sponsoring Bill to Protect Native Wildlife and Companion Animals

Jan 21, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Bobcat, Dog, Legislation, NM Department of Game and Fish, Outdoor Recreation Industry, Public Lands, Trapping is Torture, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste, Wildlife, Wildlife Management

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

Jan 20, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, Dog, Legislation, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste, Wildlife

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

Jan 14, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Cruelty, Dog, Trap Injuries, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste

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

Jan 14, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Trapping is Torture

Albuquerque Journal Editorial: Let this latest trapping death of a pet be NM’s last

Jan 12, 2019 | 2019 Legislative Session, Ban Traps on Public Lands, Bobcat, Cougar, Dog, Editorial, Endangered Species, Fox, Mexican wolf, Public Lands, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands

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...

Dog’s death spurs bill to ban trapping on public lands

Jan 10, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Bobcat, Coyote, Dog, Endangered Species, Fox, Illegal Trapping, Mexican wolf, Public Lands, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands, Wildlife

A dog’s gruesome death at Santa Cruz Lake in a trap meant for wild animals has spurred a coalition of advocacy groups to call for New Mexico to ban trapping on public lands. State Reps. Matthew McQueen, D-Galisteo, and Bobby Gonzales, D-Taos, will sponsor a bill to...

Bill to prohibit public land trapping planned

Jan 9, 2019 | Bobcat, Dog, Illegal Trapping, Public Lands, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands, Wildlife

BY T. S. LAST / JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 at 11:35pm Copyright © 2019 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE – Dave Clark says he doesn’t want anyone else to go through what he has. Not just the horror of watching his beloved 8-year-old heeler mix choke to...

A Dog Has Been Killed by a Trap in Northern New Mexico

Jan 8, 2019 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Dog, Public Lands, Roxy's Law, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste

Land Commissioner Pledges to Enact Policy, State Legislators Plan to Introduce “Roxy’s Law” For Immediate Release January 8, 2018 Contacts: Mary Katherine Ray, 575-772-5655, Jessica Johnson, Animal Protection Voters, 505-220-6656, ...

Dog loses leg after caught in trap, prompting renewed calls to ban trapping

Jan 4, 2019 | Dog, Public Lands, Trap Injuries

WARNING: Some pictures in this story are graphic. When Argos Animal Rescue first found Kekoa, they didn't think he would make it through the night. Now, after a miraculous recovery, he's acting as their poster pup for change. "He tried to chew his own leg off. He does...

Latest incident underscores the horror of trapping

Dec 2, 2018 | Abuse, Ban Traps on Public Lands, Cruelty, Dog, Public Lands, Rescue, Trap Injuries, Trapping on Public Lands, Waste

No animal deserves the agony inflicted by steel jaw, leg hold traps. This dog's story and extreme injuries reiterate the need to ban deadly traps, snares, and poisons from public lands. From Argos, A Shelter Dog Rescue: Kekoa (Courageous One) suffered multiple...

A Toxic Relationship: Wildlife management is failing the animals and the people of NM

Nov 25, 2018 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, Bear, Cougar, Coyote, Cruelty, Endangered Species, NM State Game Commission, Public Lands, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wildlife Management

New Mexico’s wildlife is a unique natural asset to be enjoyed by all citizens forever. This is not some wolf-hugger’s fantasy; wildlife as a public trust is deeply rooted in common law and the judicial record of the United States. State wildlife managers are obligated...

Tell the NM Game Commission we need real trapping reform

Nov 21, 2018 | Ban Traps on Public Lands, NM State Game Commission, Public Lands, Public Opinion

Every year, leg-hold and body-crushing traps are hidden throughout New Mexico's public lands by trappers hoping to exterminate certain wildlife species or simply make money from furs. These are the same public lands where New Mexicans and tourists go to enjoy the...

Gubernatorial rivals discuss their plans for protecting and improving NM’s outdoor resources

Oct 12, 2018 | Public Lands, Trapping on Public Lands, Wildlife, Wildlife Management

The candidates were asked where they stood regarding the controversial issue of commercial wildlife trapping on public lands. Lujan-Grisham said the state needs a 21st century, science-driven management program that promotes and protects animal welfare and reduces the...

State spent $30k on meetings to revise trapping regulations, but show little sign of actually changing those rules

Oct 10, 2018 | NM State Game Commission, Outdoor Recreation Industry, Public Lands, Public Opinion, Trapping on Public Lands, Trapping Regulations, Wildlife

By Elizabeth Miller of the Santa Fe Reporter The state of New Mexico spent more than $32,000 to hold a series of meetings ostensibly to review trapping regulations and appease political stirrings that call for an end to the practice. Their sole output has been to...

London fashion week vows to be fur-free

Sep 9, 2018 | Fur Trade

British Fashion Council says LFW in September will be first of big fashion weeks to ditch animal fur London has become the first of the main fashion weeks to ditch animal fur in its shows after the British Fashion Council (BFC) said none of the designers participating...

Time for Game and Fish to dump trapping

Sep 1, 2018 | NM Department of Game and Fish, Public Lands, Trapping on Public Lands, Wildlife

Guest Column by Christopher Smith, Southern Rockies wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. If you’ve been around New Mexico enough, you’ve likely seen New Mexico Department of Game and Fish vehicles with stickers that read “Take a child hunting, fishing or...