GAME COMMISSION WINS LION TRAPPING LAWSUIT!
Article from the New Mexico Tracker news letter July 2018
In yet another victory for trapping, the federal lawsuit filed against the New Mexico State Game Commission was decided on July 16, 2018 by Chief US District Court Judge William Johnson. The lawsuit has been ongoing since 2016 and was filed in an attempt to stop cougar trapping in NM.
The decision was what is called a “summary judgement” meaning the judge ruled on the merits of the arguments without the case having to go to a full trial. Both NMDGF and the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) had filed separate motions asking for summary judgement in their favor. HSUS was trying to have the trapping portion of the cougar rule “stayed” which basically means they wanted it declared void in order to make lion trapping illegal again because, they said, the new cougar rule “threatens Mexican wolves”. In the 38 page written decision Judge Johnson explained that after reviewing “voluminous amounts of material as evidence”, numerous written statements from relevant witnesses and current case law (previous court decisions) there was no evidence that Mexican wolves are threatened due to trapping, especially cougar trapping in NM.
He granted summary judgement in favor of the commission, allowing the current cougar regulation to stay in effect. In the lawsuit, HSUS claimed that by allowing the trapping of cougar as a legal method of harvest the state game commission was violating the endangered species act since Mexican wolves might be caught in traps set for cougar. In making their arguments they misread, misinterpreted and misrepresented NM state trapping laws in their frivolous case. In one example HSUS witnesses told the court in written statements that there was no jaw spread restriction on un-laminated traps and because of this trappers could use huge traps to capture cougar. In the decision the Judge writes that he questioned HSUS on this “because it just did not make sense to prohibit the use of smaller laminated traps while allowing larger nonlaminated ones”. NMDGF’s Colonel of law enforcement made it clear that not only was this false but officers have consistently enforced the jaw spread regulation for nearly 2 decades and the cougar rule did not change this. Continued on page 2 Who is the NMTA? We are trappers from around the nation who have come together as a group to provide education and training for all trappers to practice "Wise Use" of our renewable fur resources.
Page 2 NMTA TRACKER Commission wins lion lawsuit cont. In the end Judge Johnson saw it for what it was, a ridiculous interpretation of the law. Attorneys for the commission presented evidence which demonstrated that traps, no larger than those allowed for other fur bearing animals, which are set for cougar, present no danger of a “take” of Mexican Gray Wolves. It will come as no surprise to those reading this that most of the HSUS arguments were full of inconsistencies, contradictions and lies. Thankfully the judge recognized this and pointed many of these out in his written decision.
The HSUS’s attorneys were ultimately forced to admit that despite 2 years of legal cougar trapping, no wolves had been caught in a trap set for lions, much less injured. In addition the judge pointed out that NMDGF has conducted cougar control using traps and foot snares in several bighorn sheep areas within occupied wolf habitat for 15+ years and NMDGF provided detailed records of over 60,000 trap nights (1 trap, set for 1 night = 1 trap night) in which they NEVER caught a wolf in a trap set for a cougar. Not once. Of course this is no surprise to those of us who trap since we know that wolves and lions don’t use the country side the same way, after all that’s why you don’t make a coyote set in the same place you make a bobcat set! NMDGF attorneys apparently made this point quite effectively since Judge Johnson noted it as an important factor in his decision: “Defendants (NM Game Commission) offer persuasive evidence that despite the habitat overlap, an understanding of habitat use can help eliminate the likelihood that Mexican wolves would be caught in non-target traps and snares. Species behave differently: Differences in behavioral characteristics between cougars and wolves (and how these animals use the landscape differently) make it unlikely that a trap set for cougar would catch a wolf.”
A loss in this case could have had significant impacts on the trapping of all furbearers since the only thing the commission legalized in the new cougar regulation was the harvest of cougars if the trapper had: 1) a cougar license, 2) a trapping license, 3) they trapped on state land or private land and 4) they caught a cougar in a trap which complied with all other current trapping laws. Larger traps were not allowed and all other laws already on the books which applied to trapping furbearers apply to cougar trappers. If the judge had ruled against the commission there likely would have been additional lawsuits against furbearer trapping since the size of traps might have been an issue. This decision reaffirms the state’s ability to manage wildlife and the methods those animals may be harvested by licensed hunters, anglers and trappers so long as the state game commission considers due care when an action may affect a species protected under the ESA.
The New Mexico State Game Commission should be commended for fighting this lawsuit rather than giving up and settling with the HSUS. Please let them know you appreciate their support for trapping and wildlife management based on science not emotion.
A complete copy of the 38 page written decision along with copies of all of the other court documents can be found at:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5708021/humane-society-of-the-united-states-v-kienzle/
Or you can simply do an internet search using the case name or docket number: Case name: Humane Society of the United States v. Kienzle Docket #: 2:16-cv-00724-WJ-SMV
No comments:
Post a Comment