Contact: Ellary TuckerWilliams, Rocky Mountain States Senior Coordinator and Internal MARCOMM Liaison
Sportsmen and women have made their voice loud and message simple – public land trapping is not going down without a fight in New Mexico. Despite passing through the Senate Conservation Committee on a 7-2 vote, Senate Bill 32 (SB 32) – Wildlife Conservation and Public Safety Act – has yet to receive a hearing date in the Judiciary Committee. With there being a month left in the session, everyday SB 32 goes without being on the agenda, the outdoor sporting community is one step closer to fending off the anti-trapping movement in New Mexico for another session.
In addition to the online petition which is now approaching 15,000 individual signatures, prominent New Mexico based and national conservation organizations, including the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), collectively voiced their opposition of SB 32 in a coalition letter submitted to the Judiciary Committee. Representing 26 separate organizations, the coalition letter highlighted how trapping does not conflict with the North American Model of Conservation, the difference between poachers and trappers, impact of SB 32 on the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) and the agriculture community, and that public lands are for everyone, trappers included.
Fish and wildlife management decisions, such as trapping, must be left to the NMDGF – the body best equipped to make informed, science-based decisions based off of the North American Model of Conservation, and cannot be left to individuals who lack the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. CSF is continuing to track SB 32 and thanks all the sportsmen and women who have joined the fight against the anti-trapping movement. We have not won yet and we need your help to keep up the momentum.
To read a previous article on SB 32, click here.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
