By BEN NEARY
NMWF Conservation Director
A bill to ban trapping on public lands in New Mexico cleared its second committee on Friday and now heads to the Senate floor for a vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-to-1 to advance SB0032. The measure last month cleared the Senate Conservation Committee by a vote of 7-to-2.
The New Mexico Wildlife Federation strongly opposes the bill. However, no one from the federation commented at Friday’s committee hearing because public notice on Thursday that the bill would be heard came shortly before the deadline to register to comment. The NMWF mustered more than 400 emails to committee members in opposition to the bill on Friday.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Roberto “Bobby” J. Gonzales, D-Ranchos de Taos and others, has the support of “Trap Free New Mexico,” a coalition of animal advocacy groups including Animal Protection Voters.
The bill would ban trapping on federal lands including Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management properties but would not cover private lands. Supporters emphasize that some pets have been killed or injured in traps. However, many of those incidents have involved illegally set traps — not those set by law-abiding trappers.
In a letter to Judiciary Committee members last month, NMWF Executive Director Jesse Deubel noted that trapping is an important wildlife conservation tool and a legitimate use of a renewable wildlife resource.
“The North American Model of Wildlife Management, which lays out the generally accepted principles of scientific management — recognizes that a market for furbearers should continue as a highly regulated activity,” Deubel wrote.
The bill would exempt registered members of federally recognized American Indian tribes from the ban, provided they are trapping animals as part of their religious practices.
Jessica Johnson, chief government affairs officer for Animal Protection Voters, served as an expert witness for bill co-sponsor Sen. Brenda G. McKenna, D-Corrales. McKenna is a member of Nambé Ówîngeh Pueblo.
Sen. Daniel A. Ivey-Soto, D-Bernalillo, cast the sole vote against the bill at Friday’s hearing.
Under questioning from Ivey-Soto, Johnson noted that federal law allows American Indians to use eagle feathers and other wildlife items that non-Indians are prohibited from possessing for religious purposes. “There is precedent for this and it’s constitutional,” she said.
Ivey-Soto questioned Johnson and McKenna about why the state would create a double standard in the bill to allow Indians to trap on non-tribal lands.
McKenna responded that she had worked with the U.S. Department of Interior to acquire an eagle so she could develop the regalia to dance at her pueblo. However, she told Ivey-Soto that she couldn’t discuss in public any information about what sort of religious ceremonies would require furbearers that could be trapped on public lands or which American Indian tribes would require them.
Ivey-Soto responded that he couldn’t support the bill without transparency on the issue.
Ty Jackson, representing the New Mexico Conservation Officers Association, opposed the bill.
Jackson noted that the New Mexico State Game Commission enacted new trapping regulations last year that limited trapping equipment and methods in response to the public outcry about some pets being caught in illegal traps. The commission specified that trappers must undergo mandatory classes. It also prohibited trapping on several popular recreation areas near the state’s population centers and also near trailheads.
“One of the major concerns that the officers association has is that this will further degrade relations between the officers and the public,” Jackson said, saying that officers will be placed in the position of either having to ignore potentially illegal activity, or have to try to verify trappers’ ethnicity.
Garrett VeneKlasen, northern conservation director for New Mexico Wild, was among the witnesses in favor of the bill. He told the committee that although he grew up trapping and is an avid hunter and angler, he now supports a ban on trapping on public lands.
“The fatal flaw with snares and legholds and conibear traps on public land is that they all have the potential of indiscriminately to catch, maim and kill wildlife,” VeneKlasen said. “The potential for mismanagement of wildlife populations and increased mishaps with pet-owners is simply too great to continue utilizing trapping.”
If the bill passes in the full Senate, it will go to the House. The NMWF encourages its members to contact their state senators and encourage them to vote against SB0032.