Stop The Slaughter Of New Mexico Wildlife [Wilderness Alliance]

This past Tuesday, April 15, the Albuquerque Journal reported that a rancher in northwestern New Mexico killed 39 pronghorn antelope by shooting them with a shotgun because they were grazing in his "dormant" alfalfa field. Many of the pronghorn were maimed and did not die right away.

A 1997 law (known as the Jennings Law after its sponsor, State Senator Tim Jennings, D-Roswell) gives farmers and ranchers the right to kill wildlife that present an "immediate threat" to their crops. Rancher, Neal Trujillo, who is responsible for the killings, has complained that the State Game & Fish Department has failed to keep the pronghorn off his property, even though the state agency has offered to give Trujillo materials and some of the labor needed to reinforce his fencing.

In response to the public outcry on the killings, the Game & Fish Commission is inviting the public to comment on the law and will be holding three meetings in New Mexico.

1. May 29 in Farmington
2. July 24 in Las Vegas
3. August 21 in Albuquerque

In the meantime, Game & Fish took video of the shootings and posted it on the Albuquerque Journal website.

Watch The Video Here
(Warning: This Video Contains Graphic Images)

Please call Senator Tim Jennings and voice your concern about the slaughter that occured on Neal Trujillo’s ranch. It is completely unacceptable for New Mexico’s wildlife to be maimed and left to suffer before they die, especially when the crops they were supposedly feeding on were dormant.

Senator Tim Jennings
(575) 623-8331

Also call Tom Arvas, Chairman of the New Mexico Game & Fish Commission and urge him to do everything in his power to prevent any future incidences of New Mexico’s precious wildlife being slaughtered.

Chairman Tom Arvas
(505) 293-3515