SENATE BILL 267

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Jeff Steinborn

AN ACT

RELATING TO GAME AND FISH; AMENDING SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 17, ARTICLE 5 NMSA 1978 TO PROTECT ADDITIONAL ANIMALS AS FUR-BEARERS; PROVIDING FOR SPECIES MANAGEMENT BASED ON BEST AVAILABLE SCIENCE; PREVENTING THE TAKING OF COYOTES WITHOUT A PERMIT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 17-5-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1939, Chapter 178, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

     "17-5-1. DECLARATION OF POLICY.--It is the purpose of Sections 17-5-1 through 17-5-9 NMSA 1978 and the policy of New Mexico to provide an adequate and flexible system for the protection of fur-bearing animals [to the end that valuable fur resources shall not be wasted or depleted]."

     SECTION 2. Section 17-5-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1939, Chapter 178, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

     "17-5-2. FUR-BEARING AND NONGAME ANIMALS DEFINED--PROPERTY OF STATE.--The following quadrupeds are hereby defined as fur-bearing animals [to wit]: muskrat, mink, weasel, beaver, otter, nutria, masked or blackfooted ferret, ringtail cat, raccoon, pine marten, coatimundi, [badgers] badger, bobcat, coyote, all species of skunk, and all species of foxes. These animals and their pelts are hereby declared to be the property of the state until they [shall] have been lawfully taken, killed or captured as provided by Sections 17-5-1 through 17-5-9 NMSA 1978, except as to beaver and beaver pelts, the taking of which shall be [subjected] subject to the application of Section 17-3-31 NMSA 1978."

     SECTION 3. Section 17-5-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1939, Chapter 178, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

     "17-5-4. STATE GAME COMMISSION TO ADMINISTER ACT--RULES AND REGULATIONS.--The state game commission is authorized and directed to administer the provisions of Sections 17-5-1 through 17-5-9 NMSA 1978 and to make such rules and regulations and establish such [service] services as it may deem necessary to carry out all the provisions and purposes of those sections. In making [such] rules and regulations and providing when, where, in what numbers and by what means fur-bearing animals may be hunted, taken, captured, possessed or killed, the state game commission shall give due regard to the [zones of temperatures and to the distribution, abundance, economic value and breeding habits of such animals] best available science, including range of habitats, their status, potential threats or constraints, migration and hibernation, reproductive rates, susceptibility to disease, response to changing climate conditions, habitat loss, wildfire, overexploitation for anthropogenic purposes and potential conservation actions to keep species secure. Provided, nothing in Sections 17-5-1 through 17-5-9 NMSA 1978 shall interfere with the authority granted to the president of New Mexico state university under Sections 77-15-1 through 77-15-5 NMSA 1978 or [shall] prevent livestock producers without a permit from the taking of bobcats and coyotes that are doing damage to livestock."

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