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**UPDATE 4/11/11**
Animal Protection Voters celebrates the life of Representative Jeannette Wallace, who passed away at the age of 77 and will be deeply missed. Rep Wallace will lie in state Wednesday at the State Capitol, read more details from the Los Alamos Monitor.
On Friday April 8th, Governor Martinez signed House Bill 234 and Senate Bill 11 into law, thank you everyone who spoke up for animals during the 2011 Legislature!
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The 2011 Legislative Session has ended! Thanks to everyone who spoke up for animals and Animal Protection Voters’ (APV) diligent lobby team, the New Mexico legislature passed five new pieces of legislation that point the way to a more compassionate state.
An APV Priority Bill Passes:
1) Representative Jeannette Wallace’s (R-Los Alamos) House Bill 234, Animal Sheltering Board Sunset Date Extension, passed through the legislature. The bill, if signed by the Governor, ensures this statewide board can continue its crucial work.
Until 2007, there was no method of regulating animal shelters and in cases where serious issues arose regarding humane treatment, little means of addressing the problem. The Animal Sheltering Board is now regulating humane euthanasia and is committed to working on recommended shelter standards and statewide spay-neuter planning. “We will keep working to improve conditions for homeless animals in New Mexico, we deeply appreciate the extension approval by the legislature,” says Judy Babcock, Chair of the Animal Sheltering Board.
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Thank you for speaking up for animals!
By working together we made a difference.
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Also for Animals:
2) Senator Phil Griego’s (D-San Jose) Senate Bill 40 passed creating a Livestock Crime Stoppers program to help track down offenders for certain crimes involving livestock, including extreme cruelty to animals. This bill was not successful when it was first introduced in 2009, so congratulations to everyone who worked for its passage in 2011! Governor Martinez’s signature is needed to make this law.
3) Senator Peter Wirth’s (D-Santa Fe) Senate Bill 11 passed giving restaurants the option to serve customers who come to a restaurant patio with a leashed dog. Restaurants, the tourism industry and social dog-lovers lobbied the bill, currently the practice is prohibited for most New Mexico towns and cities due to federal regulations. Governor Martinez’s signature is needed to make this law.
More Good News For Animals:
• Senator Michael Sanchez’s (D-Belen) Senate Memorial 36 requesting the Animal Sheltering Board conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing a fund to lower the cost of spaying and neutering cats and dogs was successful in the 2011 legislature.
Making spay-neuter affordable, attractive and accessible across our entire state requires momentum and initiative. Taxpayers and the over 130,000 dogs and cats who enter shelters deserve serious planning on this issue, thank you Senator Sanchez for your leadership.
• Representative Mimi Stewart’s (D-Albuquerque) House Joint Memorial 10 passed with the support of the dynamic Wild Friends, a youth-organized group who worked with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and New Mexico Department of Transportation on this bill. This bill uses existing resources to implement a pilot program to reduce risk in an area of high mortality for wildlife-human crashes – if successful the pilot program will help save lives across the state.
APV’s Priority Cruelty Bills Perish:
Mirror bills introduced in the House and Senate to strengthen animal cruelty laws made measurable progress during the 2011 session. However, Senator Richard Martinez’s (D-Española) Senate Bill 348 and Representative Al Park’s (D-Albuquerque) House Bill 319, which clarified the conduct of cruelty, broadened the types of animals protected and ensured psychological counseling for those convicted of extreme animal cruelty, were not successful.
On the bright side, over 100 citizen lobbyists stood together on Animal Lobby Day at the Capitol to speak in favor of stronger laws for animals in New Mexico. Hundreds more across New Mexico called and wrote legislators throughout the 60-day session. Some have heard specific feedback from their legislators and were able to make it clear that animals matter to a lot of voters.
Testimony for stronger cruelty laws came from shelter professionals, domestic violence prevention advocates, law enforcement and citizens who witness animal cruelty across the state. These individuals helped educate lawmakers and spoke up for common sense changes to reduce suffering and increase compassion on the ground. Trinity, an American bulldog from Silver City who lost her leg to animal cruelty, was living proof of the need for stronger laws. Her presence at the Rotunda press conference and the standing ovation her family received in the House of Representatives helped build momentum that kept the issue fresh in the minds of lawmakers.
Attorney General Gary King’s leadership ensured high standards for animals throughout the session. His office provided key support and testimony for the bills. Media support for stronger animal cruelty laws spanned the state. Some key legislators supported and defended the bills and worked hard to find solutions.
While the cruelty bills didn’t make it through the various hurdles, all of this work paves the way for better results in the next legislative session. It will be crucial for more voices to be raised next time. Please be part of the grassroots effort to fight animal cruelty in New Mexico and get involved now.
Endangered Species Targeted
• Multiple bills that could have erased protections for endangered animals, including Mexican Gray Wolves, did not make it through the legislature because of organized opposition. However, the trend did result in success for Representative Bob Wooley’s (R-Roswell) House Memorial 46, which has no force of law but which makes it clear that biased and polarizing views of endangered species have support among many legislators.
This memorial may be part of a coordinated attempt in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma to weaken or eliminate protections for endangered species. Animal Protection of New Mexico is engaged with other groups working for wildlife who deserve protections from extinction, if you can support this work, now is the perfect time to get involved.
MORE-WHAT YOU CAN DO
It takes enormous resources and resolve to keep strong laws on the books, and even more to pass new and stronger laws. Animal Protection Voters needs your financial support to maintain its constant, year-round presence in the halls of government for all those who care about animals. Please become a member of Animal Protection Voters, be the first to receive APV’s 2011 Legislative Scorecard and help us keep up the fight to help animals across our great state.
If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures
from the shelter of compassion and pity,
you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
– St Francis of Assisi
APV works to pass laws
that improve
the lives of animals in New Mexico.
Thank you for your support!
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