SANTA FE, N.M.—Last night, by a vote of 35-34, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed Senate Bill (SB) 32, the Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act, aka “Roxy’s Law,” sponsored by Senator Bobby Gonzales (D-Ranchos de Taos) and Senator Brenda McKenna (D-Corrales) in the Senate and Representative Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo) and Representative Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos).
Each year, thousands of animals, including bobcats, coyotes, foxes, wolves, snakes and many others, are unethically hunted during wildlife killing contests/competitions.
Sport hunting is one of the most controversial topics we cover on the Animals desk. It’s an emotional issue that inevitably leads to debates about ethics, sustainability, sportsmanship, and even sovereignty. Today, I’m going to turn the newsletter over to National Geographic Explorer Filipe DeAndrade, whose new film takes a deep dive into one of the most controversial types of hunting of all: wildlife killing contests.
A dead Eastern coyote hung upside down above a bucket of dried blood in a rural Pennsylvania fire hall, its lips locked in a perpetual snarl.
Some men crouched beside it, while other adults twirled spaghetti with a fork, looking on from aluminum chairs. Children held canned sodas and stared.