Bill would hold wolves accountable for actions
By Darren Marcy – Daily-Times Staff writer
SANTA FE Bills introduced in the New Mexico Legislature would hold wolves introduced in New Mexico, and those involved in the reintroduction efforts, accountable for damages.
The bills, House Bill 764 by Rep. Dianne Hamilton, R-Silver City, and Senate Bill 746 by Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, would hold the reintroduction efforts to the same standards people are held to in relation to the wolves.
I want to make their actions illegal,” Hamilton said of her bill. It makes the federal government responsible.
Hamilton said New Mexico spent many years and a lot of money trying to get rid of the wolf.
They finally did, and it was decided we needed to bring them back, Hamilton said. The idea is someone has got to be responsible. You just dont let these wolves go without some modicum of responsibility.
The measure would hold individuals with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who work on the reintroduction effort accountable if a wolf attacks or kills a human, livestock or pet.
Each individual who works in the wolf recovery effort would have to sign a declaration of responsibility under penalty of perjury and could face fines of up to $500 or six months in jail if convicted.
If that wolf causes any problem, the person who released the wolf could be sued, Hamilton said. If theres a little closer scrutiny of the wolf and their progeny, it will be much easier for people to protect themselves from the wolf.
The bill describes wolves as Undomesticated and free-roaming carnivorous predators with the foreseeable and undeniable ability, if not propensity, to threaten or inflict death or grievous bodily harm.
It also says, By virtue of these characteristics, wolves must be found by the state of New Mexico to be inherently dangerous to any human beings they may randomly encounter.
Hamiltons bill says that while humans are held accountable for the death of a wolf, the introduced wolves are not held accountable for their actions.
The life of a person is certainly of far greater import than that of an animal, Hamilton said.
The bill would also make it illegal to allow a wolf to migrate into New Mexico onto nonfederal lands, and would make it illegal for a wolf to kill or harm a person, or to even threaten a human.
Currently wolves are initially introduced into Arizona, but allowed to move into New Mexico on their own. Also, some wolves that are recaptured in Arizona can then be re-released into New Mexico.
Under the proposed legislation, the people responsible for monitoring a wolf or limiting a wolfs migration, would also be guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
It would be legal for any New Mexico citizen who witnesses a wolf’s aggression to euthanize it.
Bryan Kelly, the Mexican wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said there was little he could comment on about the legislation because it would have to be reviewed by the agencys attorneys.
But he said, he has seen similar bills passed by cities and counties, and they usually don’t pass muster.
The wolf recovery effort is, he said, being carried out under the Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.
Were working under a federal law and federal laws will supersede state, county and local ordinances, generally, Kelly said.
He said he understands, and is sensitive to, the issue of rural citizens feeling like theyre being overrun by Washington politics.
Hamilton said she is carrying the bill for people who are afraid to let their children out to play, or allow their pets to be outside.
Its not so much that I hate (the wolf), its that I fear them and what theyve done, Hamilton said. This gives the individual a little more control over his or her environment and that of their livestock. I dont hate the wolf, but I dont think they should be near ranches.
The House bill has been co-signed by Reps. Don Tripp, R-Soccorro, and Gloria Vaughn, R-Alamogordo.
The House bill is due to be heard in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee Monday. The Senate bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing but has been assigned to the Senate Conservation Committee.