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“The Troubles with Trapping” New Mexican Road Show
“Traps on New Mexico’s public lands are a hidden source of danger to humans and their animal companions and the practice of trapping contributes to the harm and death of untold numbers of wildlife,” said Wendy Keefover, Director of Carnivore Protection for WildEarth Guardians. “The only animal Game and Fish counts are bobcats because of international law. Between 2000 and 2011, trappers culled almost 25,000 bobcats. The numbers of swift foxes, kit foxes, coyotes, and all other species go uncounted and their populations unmonitored,” she added.
Despite a multi-year effort to curb trapping on public lands, including the TrapFreeNM Coalition’s 2011 request to ban traps, which was echoed by 12,000 emails, petitions, and letters, last year the New Mexico Game Commission expanded trapping in areas that had been prohibited to trapping, and it even lifted the trap ban in the range of the Mexican wolf.
“The lobo is one of the most endangered animals on the planet, yet the Game Commission decided to lift the trap ban to allow indiscriminate trapping in its habitat,” Keefover emphasized, “despite numerous previous mortalities and injuries from this practice.”
“We are going on the road to speak to the majority of all New Mexican voters, who we know want traps banned from public lands, and these meetings give us an opportunity to meet with those voters and all New Mexico citizens face-to-face,” said Mary Katherine Ray of the Sierra Club.
Schedule:
- April 16, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
New Mexico State University
Library Room
1500 N Third Street
Grants, NM 87020
- April 17, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
San Juan College
Information Technology Room 7103
4601 College Boulevard
Farmington, NM 87402
- April 18, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Northern New Mexico College
Administration Building rooms 101-102
921 Paseo de Onate
Española, NM 87532
- April 19, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Coronado Hall, El Alcalde Room
120 Civic Plaza Drive
Taos, NM 87571
- April 22, Campus Earth Day Event
Eastern New Mexico University
1500 S Avenue K
Portales, NM 88103
- April 23, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Roswell Public Library
Bondurant Room B
301 N Pennsylvannia Boulevard
Roswell, NM 88201
- April 24, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Community Events Room
3845 North Swan Street
Silver City, NM 88062
- April 25, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
University of New Mexico Valencia Campus
280 La Entrada Road
Los Lunas, NM 87031
All events are free and are open to the public.
The TrapFreeNM.org Coaltion is comprised of WildEarth Guardians, Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, Animal Protection of New Mexico, and Born Free USA.