New Mexico Sportspersons Take Notice

New Mexico Game and Fish Public Input

The New Mexico Game and Fish are accepting comments on trapping regulations from the general public as they consider changes to there current laws. Unfortunately an organization called the Animal Protection Institute has been mass mailing and posting incorrect inflammatory accusations against traps in an effort to inundate the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish with letters to restrict trapping. The accusations include words such as body crushing traps, and also speak about damage inflicted on animals attempting to free themselves. Claims are made that a "study", to which they do not give further reference, stated that for every animal caught ten nontarget animals are also captured. Organizations like this need to be stopped and their message corrected to reveal the true aspects of trapping. It only takes a 4-3 vote for the Game and Fish to pass amendments to the current trapping regulations. We need to help the New Mexico trappers fight the Animal Protection Institute and the message they are sending. I spoke with Jeff Lehmer the President of the New Mexico trappers to see what can be done to help them and he felt that at this point it is a political and numbers game. He felt that the more people we could get to show up at the July 21 meeting in Albuquerque, and the more people that wrote to the Department of Game and Fish expressing the true nature of trapping the better their chances were to defeat any anti-trapping legislation. They could also use information from studies that will refute the information presented by the API group. Below is a list of the Fish and Game commissioners as well as an email to the Division Chief. Please help New Mexico in their fight.

Paula Hamilton , Chair Person , FTA Pro-Active Committee



Mr. Kirkpatrick, Division Chief
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
P.O. Box 25112
Santa Fe, NM 87504
ATTN: Wildlife Management Division
RJKirkpatrick@state.nm.us



Guy Riordan, Chairman
9514 Kandace Drive NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114

Alfredo Montoya, Vice-Chairman
P.O. Box 856
San Juan Pueblo, NM 87566

David Henderson
P.O. Box 9314
Santa Fe, NM 87504

Jennifer Atchley Montoya
4010 Oleta Drive Apt. A
Las Cruces, NM 88001

Peter Pino
026 Chamisa Drive
Zia Pueblo, NM 87053-6035

Tom Arvas
7905 Spain Northeast
Albuquerque, NM 87109

Leo Sims
P.O. Box 2630
Hobbs, NM 88241-2630