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Beastly Blotter

Killing-contest ban at top of animal agenda

PASSING A LAW that would ban wildlife-killing contests is a top priority for animal advocates in the upcoming New Mexico legislative session, according to Ennio Garcia-Miera, legislative director at Animal Protection Voters.
   The session opens Jan. 20 and runs through March 21. State Sen. Mark Moores (R-Bernalillo County) is set to introduce a bill that would ban the wildlife-killing competitions that have targeted coyotes and prairie dogs in New Mexico, and a wide variety of species nationwide. Such a measure was narrowly defeated in the 2013 session.
   Moores, a Republican, said he opposes blood sports, and that we should not have them in New Mexico. He said he would be talking with a co-sponsor in the House.
   Republicans won a majority in the state House in November for the first time in 60 years, but it is unclear how this will affect the passage of animal-welfare measures. Increasingly, as in this case, animal issues cross party lines. Sen. Moores said he did not see it as a partisan issue.
   Another goal of animal-welfare groups this session is securing funding for the state’s Animal Sheltering Board, specifically to establish low-cost spay/neuter resources in high-need areas. The board is part of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, but the long-term goal is to establish a separate commission or even Cabinet-level appointment to oversee animal issues, Garcia- Miera said. “This is a first step.”
   Other priorities include funding for the Companion Animal Rescue Effort (CARE ), which helps victims of domestic violence protect their pets; a new system to rescue abused equines, which currently must be sold at public auction in competition with horsemeat buyers; and additional funding for the state’s horse rescue shelters.
   Animal Protection Voters is holding its annual lobbyist training day at the State Capitol on Feb. 20. The public is invited to free sessions on effective lobbying, detailed analysis of bills being considered, and visits with elected officials to urge support for animal-friendly legislation. A press conference at the Capitol Rotunda will highlight animal protection issues for the legislative session; animal advocates are invited to come show their support.
   Register by email at lobbyday@apvnm.org.

Wolf prognosis mixed

THE 30-YEAR ATTEMPT to re-establish the nearly extinct Mexican Gray Wolf continues to be fraught with political maneuvering and competing interests. In mid-November, the New Mexico Game Commission voted unanimously to require permits to keep reintroduced wolves, which advocates saw as another blow to the recovery effort, according to a report in The New Mexican.
   The change goes into effect Dec. 15, and may affect Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch in southern New Mexico, and Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood, both of which keep Mexican Gray Wolves—but not until they reapply for permits.
   The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) meanwhile is set to release Jan. 12 the final revisions to its wolf recovery program, a subject of debate for more than a year. The agency is proposing a vast expansion of the area where captive-bred wolves are allowed to roam, while at the same time allowing greater leeway for state agencies and private livestock interests to kill wolves deemed a threat on certain private or public lands.
   Wolf advocates say this management “flexibility” will continue to prevent reintroduced wolves from reaching the original recovery goal of 100 animals in the wild, set in 1982. The population now stands at 83.
   Biologists blame inbreeding, in part, for the low population growth, which is why FWS has accepted the need to expand the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Area to nearly all of southern and central Arizona and New Mexico south of I-40.
   Meanwhile, wolf advocates marked a victory last month when the Bureau of Land Management, in response to a lawsuit brought by conservation groups, canceled a 5-year special recreation permit for a predator-killing derby on public lands around Salmon, Idaho. The hunt sponsored by Idaho for Wildlife would have allowed up to 500 people, including children, to compete to kill wolves, coyotes, and other animals in an annual contest starting in January.
   The lawsuit was brought by Defenders of Wildlife, Project Coyote, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watershed Project.
   Idaho wolves lost endangered status in 2011, and more than 1,200 wolves have died from hunting and trapping since, according to the Western Environmental Law Center. As part of its January rule revision, the FWS is expected to remove the Gray Wolf from endangered status nationwide.

Huge win for shelter dogs

THE SANTA FE Animal Shelter & Humane Society hit the jackpot this fall by winning $50,000 in a nationwide fundraising contest, thanks to overwhelming community support.
   The Michelson Found Animals Saving Pets Challenge had some 140 nonprofit groups vying to win the $50,000 grant by raising money on CrowdRise, an online crowdsourcing platform.
   The Santa Fe shelter set a goal of raising $15,000 to help about 30 shelter dogs with behavior needs. Ultimately, shelter teams raised $130,615, taking first place. “We were just blown away by the support,” said Ben Swan, spokesman for the Santa Fe shelter. He said volunteers got so committed, one went around to local businesses to drum up support. Response from some 600 individual donors shows that this was truly a grassroots effort, Swan said.
   The competition was neck-and-neck up to the last moments on Oct. 30. Coming in close behind was Houston-based Rescued Pets Movement, which raised $129,231 to win a $20,000 grant from Found Animals.
   Swan said the money raised will go toward a separate facility being built at the Santa Fe shelter to work with dogs who require extra time and resources to get adopted. “It’s an incredible validation of how important our work is with shy and frightened dogs,” he said.
   Altogether, competing groups raised more than $1 million during the challenge. The contest was designed to encourage animal-welfare groups to continue using CrowdRise to fund their programs and initiatives, according to Found Animals’ executive director, Aimee Gilbreath.
   Found Animals is a Los Angeles-based charity established by surgeon and philanthropist Dr. Gary Michelson to reduce the euthanasia of shelter pets.