* * * * UPDATE! Senate Billl 32 passed out of the Senate Conservation Committee 7-2, even though a number of the committee members who voted yes raised serious concerns about this legislation. It will now be sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary where it awaits a hearing. Please contact the committee members listed below directly or sign the petition! * * * *
New Mexico Senator Roberto Gonzales introduced legislation that would ban all forms of trapping on public land in New Mexico, including live cage traps. This legislation is a blatant attack on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the sportsmen who have funded New Mexico’s wildlife conservation efforts for the past century. Senate Bill 32 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Conservation.
Take Action! Please contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and urge them to oppose SB 32 due to a lack of support from the New Mexico Fish and Game, and because the bill was drafted with no input from the New Mexico trapping community. You can contact the committee members directly or sign the petition here to contact them simultaneously.
oneillsd13@billoneillfornm.com
New Mexico members should also contact their state Senator and urge them to oppose Senate Bill 32. New Mexico members can find their legislators by using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.
“This type of reckless legislation is precisely why wildlife management decisions should be made by professional wildlife biologists, and not by politicians or special-interest groups and their campaign funding dollars,” said Dave Hastings, president of Fur Takers of America.
Trapping is an integral part of the North American Conservation Model, and as such, the ability to trap needs to be protected. Not only is recreational trapping one of the most strictly regulated outdoor activities, but it is also essential in helping to maintain ecological balance and reduce human-wildlife and predator-livestock conflict.
“The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is the greatest conservation story ever told, and the future of wildlife conservation and the North American Model as we know it will never be the same if these baseless attacks on trapping continue throughout the U.S.,” said John Daniel, president of the National Trappers Association.
Trapping is an effective method for managing nuisance animals, such as coyotes, that prey on livestock and result in millions of dollars in cattle and sheep losses in New Mexico. According a 2015 USDA report, “the percentage of cattle loss in New Mexico due to coyotes in 2015 was 60.5% and the calf losses due to coyotes in 2015 was 49.5%.”
Not only are coyotes hurting New Mexico’s economy, they pose serious threats to other wildlife, people and pets, particularly in urban and suburban areas. In a similar 2010 USDA study, the department found: “Conflicts with coyotes in urban and suburban areas of New Mexico are increasing where they kill pets and other domestic animals, and pose safety risks to people and children.” Additionally, trapping is essential in managing urban wildlife populations that spread disease and parasites like, rabies, distemper, Lyme disease and many other tick-borne diseases.
“It is clear that New Mexico has serious predator control issues that justifies the need for continued recreational trapping efforts on public land in the state,” said Jacob Hupp, associate director of state services at the Sportsmen’s Alliance.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
