Six years ago, Mary Katherine Ray was hiking in the Cibola National Forest when her dogs became excited. Enticed by a lure intended to attract wildlife, they ran toward a double long-spring trap, pulling Ray along with them. Purely by accident, she kicked the contraption and it snapped shut before one of her dogs could step into it.
“It was really easy to see what you have to do to make it open, but I’m not strong enough,” Ray says. She experimented with the trap, wanting to know if she could open it in case she ever encountered another. She stood upon it, pressing down and trying to open it—then noticed a chain attached to a stake that was driven into the ground.
Realizing that the trap was stuck in the frozen ground—it was early December—the seriousness of what might have happened hit her.
“We were an hour-and-a-half away from the car, and a hour’s drive away from help,” she says. “What would I have done? Left my dog in the trap?”
Until then, Ray had never realized trapping still occurred. But the incident chilled her and, as a result, she started learning about wildlife trapping in New Mexico and the international fur industry it supports.
Bobcats are the most lucrative species trapped in New Mexico—their pelts sell for approximately $500 each, though some in recent years have gone for $1,000. Meanwhile, fox skins sell for between $10 and $40. They aren’t usually tanned or processed in New Mexico, she learned, nor are they sold here. Rather, the final products usually end up in Eastern Europe or Asia.
New Mexico not only has the longest trapping season of any state in the West, trappers here also kill more bobcats than within any other state.
“It’s like a macabre gold rush,” Ray says, noting that trapping differs from hunting in significant ways. Big game hunters can’t earn a profit off the meat or skins they procure, but trappers can. Trappers don’t have limits or bag counts; there are no rules on how many traps someone can set. And there is also no way to control, or even know, which animals might be caught.
“I’ve heard the traps called the ‘drift nets of the forest,’” Ray, a volunteer wildlife chairwoman for the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, says. “And I just think, ‘How can we still do that today?’”
It is legal to set unmarked traps on public lands throughout New Mexico, including on state trust lands, national forests and Bureau of Land Management lands. Now, the nonprofit WildEarth Guardians, which is one of three groups that has repeatedly requested that the state revisit the law—known as the furbearer regulation—is poised to issue new challenges against the regulation.
The furbearer regulation applies to a number of species: raccoon, badger, weasel, all species of fox, ringtail, bobcat, beaver, muskrat and nutria. Each of those fall into a season during which trappers can kill the animals, while two other furbearers, coyote and skunk, can be killed anytime throughout the year. Annually, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish issues permits to approximately 2,000 commercial trappers.
“Because there are only 2,000 trappers, chances are good you will not run into a trap,” Ray, who leads Sierra Club outings and still encourages people to spend time in the backcountry, tells SFR. “But once you have an experience like that, it makes you look at the places you go in a totally new light—the woods are supposed to be a place we can go to feel safe.”
“It was really easy to see what you have to do to make it open, but I’m not strong enough,” Ray says. She experimented with the trap, wanting to know if she could open it in case she ever encountered another. She stood upon it, pressing down and trying to open it—then noticed a chain attached to a stake that was driven into the ground.
Realizing that the trap was stuck in the frozen ground—it was early December—the seriousness of what might have happened hit her.
“We were an hour-and-a-half away from the car, and a hour’s drive away from help,” she says. “What would I have done? Left my dog in the trap?”
Until then, Ray had never realized trapping still occurred. But the incident chilled her and, as a result, she started learning about wildlife trapping in New Mexico and the international fur industry it supports.
Bobcats are the most lucrative species trapped in New Mexico—their pelts sell for approximately $500 each, though some in recent years have gone for $1,000. Meanwhile, fox skins sell for between $10 and $40. They aren’t usually tanned or processed in New Mexico, she learned, nor are they sold here. Rather, the final products usually end up in Eastern Europe or Asia.
New Mexico not only has the longest trapping season of any state in the West, trappers here also kill more bobcats than within any other state.
“It’s like a macabre gold rush,” Ray says, noting that trapping differs from hunting in significant ways. Big game hunters can’t earn a profit off the meat or skins they procure, but trappers can. Trappers don’t have limits or bag counts; there are no rules on how many traps someone can set. And there is also no way to control, or even know, which animals might be caught.
“I’ve heard the traps called the ‘drift nets of the forest,’” Ray, a volunteer wildlife chairwoman for the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, says. “And I just think, ‘How can we still do that today?’”
It is legal to set unmarked traps on public lands throughout New Mexico, including on state trust lands, national forests and Bureau of Land Management lands. Now, the nonprofit WildEarth Guardians, which is one of three groups that has repeatedly requested that the state revisit the law—known as the furbearer regulation—is poised to issue new challenges against the regulation.
The furbearer regulation applies to a number of species: raccoon, badger, weasel, all species of fox, ringtail, bobcat, beaver, muskrat and nutria. Each of those fall into a season during which trappers can kill the animals, while two other furbearers, coyote and skunk, can be killed anytime throughout the year. Annually, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish issues permits to approximately 2,000 commercial trappers.
“Because there are only 2,000 trappers, chances are good you will not run into a trap,” Ray, who leads Sierra Club outings and still encourages people to spend time in the backcountry, tells SFR. “But once you have an experience like that, it makes you look at the places you go in a totally new light—the woods are supposed to be a place we can go to feel safe.”
Excellent article, but I, too, have been a victim of trapping. I've lost 2 dogs and 2 cats to illegal traps set on my private land. The Game and Fish officer said not to worry because it was probably just kids who don't know any better. I was so outraged at this violation of my right to enjoy my pets, my land and the Gila National Forest, I have become a dedicated anti-trapping crusader. The practice is cruel, barbaric and highly dangerous to people hiking, camping, fishing, hunting or horseback riding on public lands. It's only a matter of time before the NM Department of Game and Fish is sued by someone injured unnecessarily by a trap, many of which are illegal. It's time our game officials were dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
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One critical and generally overlooked aspect of furbearer trapping management in New Mexico is the outdated and poor-quality science used by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. All endeavors which claim scientific credibility must have a plan and documentation. NMDGF has no furbearer management plan and provides no documentation of its management decisions. A plan should include such simple things as a goal, what data will be collected to verify progress toward that goal, how data will be analyzed, and what will be done in response to possible outcomes of the analyses. Assertions such as “trapping in New Mexico has not harmed animal populations,” or “we can kill 4,000 bobcats per year without harming populations” should be fully documented and that documentation should be readily available to the public.
This is not rocket science, but basic scientific procedures that have been in use since Galileo. Wildlife in New Mexico belong to the people of New Mexico. We have a right to know that they are being cared for properly. Trappers especially should be concerned that NMDGF is using the best available scientific procedures to ensure healthy populations.
NMDGF is essentially asking the people of New Mexico, trappers and anti-trappers alike, to “trust us” that everything is alright with trapping and furbearing animals in New Mexico. We need look no farther than the latest story about the BP oil spill to be reminded that disasters can come without warning and that good plans, updated and available to the public, are a necessary aspect of managing our natural resources.
Robert Harrison
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
University of New Mexico
I think many people overlook the fact that most furbearing species have been re intorduced and thrive in our country because of useing the foot hold trap heres a video to those who dont know much about trapping
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsj-2o0ux14
it is the only practical and efficent way to controll and to help wildlife species....................
there are many lies about trapping and myths becuase of ignorence peta and dsney movies
get your facts straight
Travis is right! trapping is the only viable way to gain knowledge on these creatures. Yes there are some bad apples that set illegal traps but that is the minority, the same with any industry or activity. You never hear the good but you ALWAYS hear the bad! Today's traps are some of the most humane restraint devices out there. They do not have a 2ft jaw span with teeth anymore (those are very illegal) My own hounds get caught at least 2x every year and all still have all their toes and have never broken a bone. Yes bad things happen but you shouldn't persecute the whole lot due to the few bad ones you hear about or exirience. I dare any opponent of trapping to get out and try it before condeming it! Get out there and watch with YOUR OWN EYES and see what it's about. Most trappers have the utmost resect for their quarry and it doesn't behoove them to have the quarry suffer. Go ahead try it.....you may learn something!