Cougars count—let’s count them all. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) regulations allow for the liberal killing of cougars, especially females, but it does not count all of them. Make your voice heard and send a free fax to the New Mexico Game Commission, telling them you want to see cougars protected in New Mexico!

PLEASE SEND A LETTER BY July 22, 2008, to the New Mexico Game Commission.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Cougars are essential in the balance of New Mexico's native ecosystems. They modulate deer and other prey populations. Without cougars, several species of plants and animals would disappear, and rare desert riparian systems would function less adequately. If herbivores consume too many plants, they decrease opportunities for other species to persist, and overgrazing can cause stream bank erosion.

Not only are cougars important ecosystem actors, they are majestic creatures that belong in New Mexico's wild landscapes. Cougar numbers depend on the amount of available prey, but because New Mexico's habitats are arid, cougar populations are fairly low. The New Mexico Game Commission must protect and sustain cougar populations, and current management practices do not. Because cougars count, I am asking the state to do just that: make management decisions that result in the long-term sustainability of our state's cougar population, and in the absence of reliable population data, it's better to make safe decisions than be sorry about unintended consequences.

First, require that all hunters and guides be able to distinguish between male and female cougars as part of a mandatory education program-similar to the one just implemented in Colorado. Cougars do not have orphanages, yet under New Mexico Department of Game and Fish regulations, more than 40% of all cats killed in New Mexico are female. This means that untold, uncounted kittens die due to being orphaned. Killing breeding females and their offspring is biologically unsustainable and ethically reprehensible.

Second, New Mexico does not account for all cougars killed. Cougars killed on private lands in trophy hunts, bighorn sheep areas, and for livestock depredation are not counted in the statewide quota. Essentially, this permits unlimited killing opportunities. Not only does this represent poor stewardship, it allows private landowners to profit at the expense of the public's wildlife. It assumes that all cougars prey on bighorn sheep, which is rarely the case.

Third, New Mexico's program to "prevent" livestock losses in game management units 29, 30, and 34 is a poorly-designed, state-sponsored subsidy. The program benefits a few in agribusiness and a trapper, who is allowed to kill up to 20 cougars each year. The preventative kill program is a waste of money, is unsustainable, and presents opportunities for corruption. Make these 20 cougars per year count and encourage livestock producers to use common sense non-lethal solutions. The tens of thousands of dollars spent on this program would be better used for human-cougar co-existence education.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
July 21, 2008