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Three Recent Incidents Plague New Mexicans
Contact: Wendy Keefover-Ring (505) 988-9126 x1162

Santa Fe, NM. Since mid-December, at least three New Mexico residentsand/or their dogs have been caught in leg-hold traps set out by furtrappers. In one instance, thetraps were illegally set but snows have hampered investigation by the NewMexico Department of Game and Fish.

OnDecember 12, while hiking on the Dome Road of the Santa Fe National Forest,Maggie Craw, a Peña Blanca resident and her friend, found themselvesfrantically rescuing Craw’s Labrador retriever, Lulu. It took both adults to accomplish the task after asteel-jawed, leg-hold trap slammed shut and concussed Lulu’s paw.

“Wewere absolutely frightened!” exclaimed Craw, “Lulu grew increasingly agitatedwhile we scrambled to hold her down and release the trap.” She affirmed that, “Lulu’s screams werehorrific—sounds that I didn’t know a dog could make—horrible haunting sounds thatI never want to hear again,” Craw added.

Lulu’strap, placed near the roadway, was illegal because it both failed to identifythe trapper and was baited with fresh meat. It is legal, however, to hide traps within as little as 75feet from a road or trail. Game Warden Desi Ortiz and Craw attempted to visitthe site on December 17, but deep snow prevented them and a second visit onDecember 27 was unfruitful because of snow cover over the traps.

“I’mshocked to learn that traps can be set so close to a public road,” Crawemphasized.

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OnDecember 20th, hiker Arifa Goodman and her two dogs got caught in traps nearthe Village of San Cristobal located in Taos County. Goodman was walking on the Carson National Forest where shewalks daily with her canine companions, Wally, a Belgian Malinios, and Jasper,a German Shepherd.

AfterWally’s front paw was captured by a coyote trap, he howled. Goodman, “operating on adrenaline,”forced open the trap but could not sustain the strength to hold the apparatusopen. Her own fingers becameensnared and were crushed. Shetried desperately for about ten minutes to open the trap and when that effortfailed, she untied the stake from around a tree and spent the next 20 minutes“running down the hill.” Goodmanknocked on several doors before someone was able to help her.

Shesaid, “I think I spent 30 minutes with three fingers caught in the trap. My fingers were numb and I felt at onepoint I might lose one of them.”

Evenduring her ordeal, Goodman realized Jasper was missing and feared she too wasalso caught in a trap. As soon asshe was free, Goodman raced her car back up the hill to find Jasper, who was ina desperate state. Jasper had onetoe caught in a trap, was lying on the ground, but her rear left leg wassuspended in the air with the trap hanging over a bent tree. The only way to open the trap Goodmanrealized was to get it onto the ground and stand with all her weight on eitherside to release the mechanism. Butbecause of its position the only thing she could do was unbury the stake.

“Luckilythe ground was not frozen,” said Goodman, “otherwise I would not have been ableto get it out.” She used the ironfrom her car jack to dig up the stake.

Sherecalled, “It took me an hour to free Jasper. She was bleeding profusely. I took her on an emergency vet run twelve miles into Taos,where my vet met us after hours. Jasper received approximately 10 stitches, bandages, andantibiotics. Her cut was verydeep.”

“Thenext day, my own hand was still numb,” added Goodman. “I went to urgent care myself, after driving myself to Taoswhere I was X-rayed, given a tetanus shot and antibiotics. Two and one-half weeks after thisincident, I still have no sensation in one finger.”

“Gettingcaught in a trap can happen to anyone. It’s a danger to anyone who uses the forest, and traps should not beallowed so close to communities. When one’s dog is caught in a trap howling in pain, the only thing onecan think about is getting the dog free. A person could die if caught in a trap and it’s frozen to the ground andthey cannot get out. It couldhappen to anyone—it almost happened to me.”

InGoodman’s case, the traps were legally placed. The trapper was notified of theincident because the traps were set near popular hiking trails. Goodman’sexperience of freeing her two dogs and herself took approximately 2 hours, sherecalled.

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Athird incident occurred 30 miles west of Taos on public lands. Attempts to contact the woman have notyet been successful.

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Trappersseek to ensnare wildlife like bobcats, foxes and coyotes in order to make moneyfrom selling their pelts.

“Mostpeople mistakenly believe trapping is illegal. In fact, trapping activitieshave spiked in recent years because of overseas demands. Fur pelts brings moremoney than ever,” noted Mary Katherine Ray, Wildlife chair for the Rio GrandeChapter of the Sierra Club.

Rayhad her own run-in with a trap in 2004. She was hiking in a remote area withher two dogs when, because they were on leashes, all three were lured to thetrap location by the scent bait the trapper had applied. “Luckily, the way Iplaced my foot inadvertently kicked the trap and it slammed shut harmlessly.But I discovered that I was not strong enough or big enough to have opened itand with the ground frozen and me a 90 minute walk from my vehicle, I don’tknow what I would have done. Even though none of us were hurt, knowing trapscan be lurking out there has taken away some of the peace I once enjoyed whilehiking alone on public lands. Because of trap danger, I feel like I can’t hike in some places now.”

BothArizona (1994) and Colorado (1996) banned public lands trapping through citizeninitiatives. New Mexico has nocitizen-ballot initiative process.

“NewMexicans, unlike Coloradoans or Arizonans, must remain vigilant for hiddentraps on public lands while recreating. Traps do not discriminate between theirvictims, but they are cruel torture for any animal or person caught in them,”stated Wendy Keefover-Ring of WildEarth Guardians. “The trap-check time in New Mexico is once daily, except forcoyote traps which have no time requirements,” she added.

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NM Trapping BackgroundInformation

TheRio Grand Chapter of the Sierra Club has been collecting stories from trapvictims since 2005.

StateFurbearer Regulations – Process Under Review

InDecember 2010, the New Mexico Game Commission voted to review the furbearertrapping rules but did not set the date for the new review. Hearings before for the Game Commissionhave not yet been scheduled.

Thepetition requesting that the trapping regulations be opened was submitted byWildEarth Guardians, Sierra Club – Rio Grande Chapter, and Animal Protection ofNew Mexico in 2009 after record numbers of bobcats and foxes were killed byfurtrappers and because the Game Commission had not visited the issue for fouryears despite the high, unsustainable rates of trapping.

MexicanWolves and Trapping

OnJuly 28, 2010, Governor Bill Richardson issued an executive order thatprohibited leghold and body-crushing traps within the Mexican wolf recoveryarea in New Mexico to protect lobos. The trap ban, intended to protect highlyendangered Mexican wolves, occurred after fourteen wolves had been caught infurtrappers’ traps since 2002. Twowolves sustained leg amputations stemming from trap injuries.

Theorder banned commercial and recreational trapping in this area by privatepersons for a six-month period beginning on November 1, 2010; required NMDGF toundertake a study to see if traps harm wolves; and directed the Department ofTourism to undertake a study on potential economic benefits of lobo-relatedecotourism.

OnOctober 28, 2010, the Game Commission unanimouslyadopted the Governor’s Executive Order as part of its regulations. But at that hearing, Jim Lane, WildlifeChief for Game and Fish declared that coyote trapping would be legal becausethe agency had “no authority” to regulate coyotes.

OnNovember 8, 2010 Game and Fish put out a press release that stated: “Thetrapping ban was in effect November 1, and applies to steel traps, footholdtraps, snares and conibear body-gripping traps. Trapping for coyotes is allowed. Trapping for regulated furbeareris allowed when necessary to protect public safety and private property.”

Gameand Fish’s position is contrary to New Mexico’s laws for protecting endangeredspecies and ignores their own regulations.

ThreeNM Governmental Bodies Adopted Anti-Trapping Resolutions in 2010

Town of Silver City — the countyseat of Grant County, New Mexico, the county which historically has lead thestate in the highest number of animals trapped. Resolution unanimously adoptedon February 23, 2010.

Animal Service Center of Mesilla Valley — apublic entity operated under a joint powers agreement by the City of Las Cruces(New Mexico’s second-most populous city) and Doña Ana County. The ASCMV Boardof Directors, who unanimously approved this resolution on June 3, 2010, iscomposed of elected Doña Ana County commissioners and elected City of LasCruces councilors.

Doña Ana County — New Mexico’ssecond-most populous county. Resolution unanimously adopted on July 13, 2010.

The Town Of Mesilla, unanimously passed a resolution on December 13, 2010.