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 home from their hike.
I live in Velarde and often hike with my dog or ride my horse on the BLM land between Velarde and Alcalde. On a hike a few years ago I came upon a coyote that had died in an unchecked body snare. Another cruel way to die is to starve to death in a snare. Each time I enter the BLM land I pray that my dog, Povi, will come home alive.
“Traps and snares (and poison) on public lands are dangerous, inhumane, environmentally destructive, and they have no place in a 21st century economy,” states newly elected New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard.
It is time to stop putting people and their animals at risk as well as the predators that help keep our ecosystems in balance.
Let’s call on our legislators to make this the year that our public lands become trap free.
Judith Chaddick
Velarde