Body-grip trapping, a cruel and barbaric method of capturing small wildlife for pelts, meat, or animal control, is still conducted in New Mexico (including on public lands), though a strong majority of New Mexicans want to see the practiced limited or banned outright.
A 2005 statewide survey of New Mexicans reveals that 63% of voters are against trapping on public lands. The survey also showed that 59% of New Mexicans are not aware or believe wrongly that trapping is illegal on public lands.
Only 22% of survey respondents opposed a ban on public lands trapping. And, in any given year, less than 2,200 trapping permits are sold in New Mexico, to less than one-tenth of one percent of the population. Simply put, New Mexicans support ending the reckless and indiscriminate practice of trapping on New Mexico's public lands, regardless of gender,
ethnicity, political leanings, or recreational hobbies.
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At least 14 endangered Mexican wolves have been gravely injured by traps since 2002 (Photo: USFWS)
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What is trapping?
APNM is opposed to trapping that is used to both capture and kill animals. This does not include live-trapping methods used by biologists to temporarily capture animals for study. Profit-driven trappers capture wildlife in order to sell their furs, although some people do it to "control" wildlife, and others trap as a hobby.
All traps snap shut in response to pressure on the trigger mechanism. They are unable to distinguish among wildlife, companion animals, or people.
There are three types of traps currently legal in New Mexico: steel leg-hold, steel Conibear, and wire snares.
Steel leg-hold traps come in two forms: coil-spring and long-spring. Both of these traps are "sprung" by a pan trigger in the middle of the trap. Pressure on the pan releases the jaws of the trap to shut on whatever part of the body is exposed. The traps are extremely strong, occasionally breaking limbs and often cutting off circulation to the part of the body caught in the trap, leaving permanent damage.
Conibear traps are shaped in a small square. These traps are triggered by wires within the middle of the trap. Conibears are designed to crush the heads of wildlife, supposedly killing the animal quickly. Yet very often, these traps fail to kill the animal immediately because the trap closes on the mid-section or does not close with enough pressure. In these traps, domestic dogs have had their snouts broken and held until they have starved to death. Conibears often are used in water so that wildlife is held until drowning.
Snares are made of metal wire or plastic and are placed in a loop so that after an animal places a part of the body in the loop, the snare tightens on the animal as he/she struggles. Very often limbs are damaged due to the struggles of the animal, and either permanent damage is done to the animal due to a loss of circulation, or the animal chews off his/her limb to escape.
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- Share your story with APNM’s Wildlife Campaign Manager. APNM is building a network of concerned citizens about trapping, and will update you as progress is made. Let us know if you have encountered traps on public lands or if you are an outdoor recreationist concerned about indiscriminate trapping. Provide your name, address, preferred email, and telephone.
- Contact your local state representatives and Governor Martinez. Respectfully let them know you are opposed to trapping on public lands. Letters are better than emails.
- Contact your county commissioners and/or city council to request a resolution supporting a ban on public lands trapping. Since 2010, four such resolutions (in Santa Fe Co., Dona Ana Co., Silver City, Mesilla, and Taos Co.) have been adopted.
- Contact the New Mexico Game Commission and the Director of New Mexico Game & Fish Department. Respectfully let them know you opposed trapping on public lands. Again, letters are better than emails.
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Send a letter to the editor of your local New Mexico paper. Most newspapers around the state have a way to submit a letter to the editor via email. Check out their websites and look for "Contact Us," or "Letters to the Editor."
- Visit TrapFreeNM.org for more ways to get involved!
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What are the rules for trapping?
In New Mexico, traps may be encountered year-round. There are no bag limits for animals, trap limits by number, or game unit restrictions. Trapping is allowed on public lands (state, National Forest, or BLM lands) and is restricted by location only in the following ways:
• outside 25 yards of a hiking trail designated by the agency on a map provided for the general public;
• 25 yards of the shoulder of any public road annually maintained with public funds; 50 yards of a livestock/wildlife watering area;
• or one-quarter mile of a dwelling, public campground, or rest-, picnic-, or boat-launching area
• Exceptions: no trapping in Los Alamos Co., Rio Grande Recreation Area in Taos Co., Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest, McGregor Military Range, or Valles Caldera National Preserve
State law requires that traps be checked every 24 hours by the trapper or a representative of the trapper. Traps must be marked either with the trapper's name and address, or a trapper ID number (provided free by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish [NMDGF]). There is no requirement for trap locations to be shared with Game Wardens, land management authorities, or the public. Similarly, trappers are not required to post warning signs on public lands so that people can protect their children and companion animals.
Coyotes and skunks may be trapped year-round without a license. Trapping other wildlife requires a $20 license from NMDGF, with half-year seasons in the fall, winter, and spring.
What animals are trapped?
In New Mexico, there are legal trapping seasons for badgers, beavers, bobcats, coyotes, fox, muskrats, nutrias, raccoons, ringtail cats, squirrels, and weasels. Coyotes and skunks can be trapped year round.
There are no legal trapping seasons for birds, black bears, coatimundis, deer, javelinas, mountain lions, pine martens, wolves, or threatened or endangered species, but they are often trapped as "by-catch” animals, as are domestic dogs and cats. Trappers are not penalized or fined for killing by-catch animals.
Why oppose trapping?
Trapping is cruel and barbaric.
Animals are often wounded but not killed when the traps are sprung on them, leaving them to suffer for hours or days until the trapper returns. If the animal is alive, they are generally beaten or strangled to death rather than shot to preserve the quality of the fur.
Traps are indiscriminate.
A trap cannot distinguish between the target animal and an endangered species, domestic dog, or a human. A trap is designed to securely capture or kill and can leave permanent physical damage to anything that gets caught. In this way, trapping is a major public safety hazard.
Trapping puts the ecosystem at risk.
A trapper with a permit is allowed as many animals as he/she can catch—there are no bag limits or quotas. Regulations on trapping are loosely enforced and state wildlife authorities cannot maintain an accurate count of trapping’s toll on wildlife. For the 2009-10 trapping season, NM Department of Game & Fish reports that only 28% of trapping permitees reported their trap counts for the agency’s mandatory harvest survey. Neither the agency nor the public has a clear understanding of how many and what kind of animals are being trapped.
What are the latest New Mexico wildlife trapping statistics?
Trapping statistics from 2006-10 can be accessed at the website of the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish (NMDGF).
NMDGF reports that 9,881 target animals were trapped during the 2009-10 trapping season. This figure does not include “by-catch” (a.k.a. non-target) animals. However, trapping is woefully underreported in New Mexico, leaving no clear evidence to its effects on the ecosystem. For the 2009-10 season, 551 permittees (comprising only 28.6% of the licensed trappers in New Mexico) reported their trap counts to NMDGF. In the two previous seasons, only 58% of trappers reported in the agency’s mandatory “harvest survey.” On public lands, many of which are designated as wildlife habitat, this unregulated trapping may be having a catastrophic effect on native species. The only certainty in New Mexico trapping is thousands or even tens of thousands more animals are being killed than what is officially reported.
More information on hunting and trapping in New Mexico can be found here (pdf).
2004 Trapping, Wildlife, and Tourism Statistics (Source: NMDGF)
- 767 estimated trappers in New Mexico (95% in-state)
- 7,344 target animals trapped (by-catch unknown)
- $671,000 generated by trapping (licenses, equipment, pelt sales)
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- 449,000 New Mexicans active in wildlife viewing
- 387,000 tourists visit New Mexico for wildlife viewing
- $384,000,000 generated by wildlife-watching in New Mexico (travel, equipment, fees)
“Trapping helps to control predators.”
Many in the agricultural and ranching industries make this argument. However, research indicates that trapping does very little in reducing livestock losses to wildlife, which, according to the USDA, only account for 4% of total livestock losses in New Mexico. Berger (2006) and Baker et al (2008) demonstrated that coyote eradication programs have little effect on reducing livestock depredations. Further, limits on trapping may actually increase livestock yields. Colorado, after restricting public lands trapping, saw a 62% decrease in sheep depredations between 1994 and 2004.
“If you prohibit trapping on public lands, hunting will be next.”
This argument is a common scare tactic by trappers to enlist hunting permittees, which are far more numerous (less than 2,000 trapping permits are sold every year in New Mexico). However, according to a 2005 survey of New Mexicans by Research & Polling, Inc., 52% of hunters favor prohibiting trapping on public lands, while only 33% oppose it. Hunters and their companion animals, like all of the public, are at risk of injury from unmarked traps in public lands.
“Trapping is a traditional way of life.”
This argument, while not a myth, does not reflect the evolving priorities for public lands in New Mexico. Today, people utilize public lands for a variety of purposes, with outdoor sports and recreational wildlife-viewing now the primary revenue-generators on New Mexico public lands (see The Economics of New Mexico Trapping and Wildlife).
Wildlife in New Mexico have a right to live without the threat of being trapped and suffering in pain for hours or days between two pieces of crushing steel. Also, people deserve to enjoy our public lands without fear of harm from traps to themselves, their children, or companion animals.
Sources
Baker, P. J., B. Luigi, S. Harris, G. Saunders, and P. C. L. White. 2008. Terrestrial carnivores and human food production: impact and management. Mammal Review 38:123-166.
Berger, K. M. 2006. Carnivore-Livestock Conflicts: Effects of Subsidized Predator Control and Economic Correlates on the Sheep Industry. Conservation Biology 20:751-761.
National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2001, National and State Economic Impacts of Wildlife-Watching
Have you ever encountered a trap in New Mexico? Help us change trapping regulations in New Mexico by sharing your experience with APNM’s Wildlife Campaign Manager.
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