In 2015 New Mexico’s Department of Game and Fish’s proposal for widespread recreational cougar trapping was approved. For the first time in almost five decades, cougar traps and snares can be legally placed almost anywhere in the state. The New Mexico State Game Commission unanimously approved the proposal but it has sparked much controversy and concern throughout the state.
 
The Cougar Rule
The approved policy, also known as the Cougar Rule, allows traps and snares to be placed on approximately nine million acres of land throughout almost every county in New Mexico. Permit requirements have also been relaxed on traps and snares that are set on privately owned land. Although cougars are the main targets of the traps, they frequently capture other animals such as dogs and endangered species that are of similar size and share the same habitat as cougars.
 
Traps used are steel-jawed leg-hold traps which use a spring-loaded trigger mechanism that will close the two metal jaws when an animal steps in the middle pan of the trap. Foot snares are also used which consist of a metal arm holding a coiled spring that throws and cinches a looped metal cable around an animal’s leg or foot.
 
Because of the Cougar Rule’s lax requirements, many citizens and organizations are rising up against the policy. Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM), The Humane Society of the United States, and concerned citizens of New Mexico are now challenging the Cougar Rule in state and federal court. Involved citizens include Search and Rescue workers, wolf enthusiasts and advocates, and cougar biologists.
 
Concerns of Cougar Trapping
One of the biggest concerns of the Cougar Rule are the indiscriminatory snares and traps that harm endangered species, people, pets, and nursing cougar mothers and kittens who are supposedly protected under the state of New Mexico. Plaintiffs argue that the Cougar Rule violates the federal Endangered Species Act because endangered Mexican wolves and jaguars have a higher risk of being caught.
 
Plaintiffs also argue that the Cougar Rule was approved recklessly and without the support of the best available science. The top cougar biologists of the country assert that the current annual cougar harvest limit of 749 is higher than what’s sustainable for the cougar population. Since the beginning of cougar mortality tracking in 1981, no more than 300 cougars have been killed for depredation or sport. Jessica Johnson, chief legislative officer for APNM, said that the organization is “committed to using every legal and legislative tool possible to right that wrong”.
 
A statewide poll was conducted in August 2015 regarding the Cougar Rule. The poll results found that the citizens of New Mexico opposed the policy by a three-to-one margin. More than a year later organizations and citizens are still fighting the State Game Commission’s approval of the Cougar Rule. Despite how much time has passed, it’s important to stand up against policies that compromise local ecosystems and wildlife. Without environmental organizations and engaged citizens the world’s wildlife are at risk of becoming endangered or potentially extinct.