skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

NM Legislature Considers 'Roxy's Law' to Ban Wildlife Traps

play audio
Play

Wednesday, January 23, 2019   

SANTA FE, N.M. - A dog killed by a trap near Santa Cruz Lake is driving legislation expected to be introduced in the New Mexico Legislature this week to ban trapping on public lands.

The 8-year-old dog named Roxy was on a hike with her owner last November when she was caught in an unmarked neck-snare trap and died before the trap could be removed.

Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair for the Sierra Club's Rio Grande Chapter and a member of the TrapFree New Mexico coalition, said "Roxy's Law" is needed because there are millions of acres of public land where snares and other dangerous traps may be set legally.

"This could happen to anyone," she said, "and the fact that we allow killing devices on our public lands where other people can legally and rightfully recreate with their companion animals, and in some cases working animals, just is so utterly senseless."

Traps legally can be set if they're 25 yards away from a road maintained annually with public funds, or from a trail marked on an agency map. Sponsors of the bill have said it would outlaw commercial trapping on public land, but not affect trapping for scientific purposes.

A similar bill to ban trapping on public lands was introduced in the 2017 session, but ranchers and trappers convinced lawmakers the practice was part of the state's heritage and said it's necessary to control wild carnivores. However, Ray argued that the economic benefit from tourists to the state also should be considered.

"When we invite people to New Mexico to enjoy our outdoor spaces, I mean, that's part of our heritage too. The tourism industry is huge here," she said. "To inflict these devices on them is just appalling, especially when our neighboring states of Arizona and Colorado don't do that."

Ray said New Mexico has no penalties for trappers who unintentionally trap non-target wildlife, including endangered species, protected species, domestic animals or even humans.

The bill will be introduced by Reps. Bobby Gonzales, D-Taos, and Matthew McQueen, D-Santa Fe.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021