Trapping season is upon us: In two weeks, cruel traps will be strewn across New Mexico’s public lands, causing agonizing suffering for the unlucky animals who fall victim to them. Our new Game Commissioners, whom Governor Lujan Grisham appointed this year, has ignored the fact that nearly 70% of New Mexicans oppose trapping entirely. Outdated and indiscriminate traps kill thousands of companion animals, endangered Mexican gray wolves, and native bobcats, foxes, coyotes, beavers and other species.
While the Game Commission undertook a review of the state’s trapping laws following significant public outcry and suggested a few tweaks, the proposed changes do not go far enough to protect New Mexico’s wildlife and pets. Unfortunately, the Commissioners appear to be largely catering to special interest trapping groups.
The Trap Free New Mexico coalition, of which Project Coyote is a part, needs your voice to help push for meaningful reform to protect the state’s people, pets, and wildlife from trapping.
It is unacceptable that New Mexico residents cannot walk freely on our public lands—which belong to all citizens—without fearing that their beloved companion animal will fall victim to a snare, leghold or Conibear kill-trap. We must stop catering to a miniscule percentage of the population who litter public lands with indiscriminate traps for private gain.
The inadequate changes include:
- Closing only 0.5% of New Mexico’s public land to most traps;
- Increasing the distance traps must be set from trailheads but not from trails or roads; and
- Adopting a year-round hunting season for raccoons and nutria.
The agency also has declined to propose bag limits for furbearers—meaning that animals like coyotes, foxes, bobcats, raccoons, otters and other species may still be killed in unlimited numbers.
Help ban trapping on public lands!
Contact the State Game Commission:
Email the Commissioners (emails below) urging them to ban trapping on all of New Mexico’s public lands. Additional talking points below.
Joanna.Prukop@state.nm.us; R.Salazar-Henry@state.nm.us; Jimmy.Bates@state.nm.us; Gail.Cramer@state.nm.us; Tirzio.Lopez@state.nm.us; David.Soules@state.nm.us; Jeremy.Vesbach@state.nm.us;dgf-furbearer-rules@state.nm.us
Submit a Letter to the Editor:
Please send a letter to your local newspaper encouraging readers to urge the State Game Commission to ban trapping on all of New Mexico’s public lands. If your letter is published, send the letter via email to the Commissioners. Find tips for submitting letters to the editor here and additional talking points below.
Talking Points:
- Traps are cruel. Animals in traps may starve to death, succumb to exposure or dehydration, or even chew off their own limbs trying to escape.
- Traps are indiscriminate. They kill non-target animals including cats, dogs and imperiled species, including Mexican gray wolves. Countless New Mexico residents have lost beloved pets to indiscriminate traps.
- Trapping is counterproductive to sound science. Randomly killing coyotes, for example, disrupts their pack structure which can increase their populations and increase conflicts with humans and companion animals.
- Wild animals play an important ecological role in healthy ecosystems. Coyotes, for example, reduce rabbit and rodent populations, keep environments free of animal carcasses, and increase biodiversity.
- Trapping allows a tiny minority of the population to steal New Mexico’s wildlife for personal profit. Wildlife belongs to ALL citizens—but for only $20 a year (even less for youth), a trapper is allowed to kill as many animals as he or she wants for private gain.
- Preventative and non-lethal methods are more effective at protecting public health and livestock. More information here.
Thank you for speaking up for New Mexico’s animals!
For wild nature,
Joe Newman
Project Coyote Creative Associate