SENATE BILL 1079
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007
INTRODUCED BY
Steve Komadina
AN ACT
RELATING TO FERAL ANIMALS; MITIGATING THE FORESEEABLE INHERENT DANGERS TO THE LIVES AND PROPERTY OF NEW MEXICO RESIDENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RELEASE OF WOLVES WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. FINDINGS.--The legislature finds that:
A. prior to April 2000, there were no known unconfined wolves existing within the borders of New Mexico;
B. since April 2000, there have been a significant number of wolves released upon federal lands to roam within the borders of New Mexico, together with their offspring. Wolves, including their offspring, shall be referred to individually as the "wolf" and collectively as the "wolves" by employees or agents of the United States fish and wildlife service either independently or in cooperation with and with the assistance of other individuals under, and pursuant to, the alleged authority of the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973;
C. by definition, wolves are by their very nature undomesticated and free-roaming carnivorous predators with the foreseeable and undeniable ability, if not propensity, to threaten or inflict death or grievous bodily harm;
D. by virtue of these characteristics, wolves are inherently dangerous to any human being they may randomly encounter;
E. the United States fish and wildlife service and other federal authorities have by various means informed the citizens of New Mexico that the lives and well-being of wolves have the full protection of federal law and that any human being found responsible for the death or maiming of wolves shall be prosecuted by federal authorities to the full extent of applicable federal law, which includes up to one year in federal prison or a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per incident; and
F. basic notions of justice and equity demand that the law also provide the citizens of New Mexico equal, if not greater, protections under the laws of this state as those afforded to wolves based on the following three fundamental premises:
(1) the life and physical safety of any human being is, at minimum, at least of equal value to that of any wolf and, in fact, is of greater inherent value in and to the state than any individual benefit or cumulative benefits that may be claimed to be derived from the reintroduction of wolves into New Mexico under the cover of the Endangered Species Act of 1973;
(2) the death or grievous bodily injury of any human being by a species intentionally released in the state under the alleged authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 cannot conceivably have been a permissible or acceptable consequence intended or even foreseen by the United States congress when that act was enacted in 1973; and
(3) if a citizen of New Mexico may be criminally prosecuted, imprisoned or fined for causing the death of or bodily injury to a wolf, equity and justice demand that any person found responsible for unleashing such inherently dangerous animals within New Mexico shall also be subject to criminal prosecution, imprisonment or fine when it is determined that any wolf or wolves released by that person have caused the death of or bodily injury to any human being in New Mexico.
Section 2. REGULATION OF WOLF RELEASES.--Based on the foregoing findings, the legislature declares the following:
A. the knowing, premeditated and intentional unconstrained release of any inherently dangerous carnivorous predator, including any wolf, in New Mexico by any person shall be found to constitute an act that:
(1) poses a foreseeable threat to the health, safety and welfare of a New Mexico citizen or a citizen's livestock;
(2) exceeds the scope of authority intended to be vested in the executive branch of the federal government by the United States congress when the latter body enacted the Endangered Species Act of 1973, if it is determined in a state court of competent jurisdiction that one or more wolves has either caused the death of or inflicted great bodily injury to any New Mexico citizen or a citizen's livestock; or
(3) because wolves are inherently dangerous carnivorous predators, it shall be the joint and several lawful duty of each person who causes, participates in or assists in the release of any wolf in New Mexico to at all times properly supervise, monitor and control both that wolf and any offspring produced by that wolf and to appropriately limit the migrations of wolves in and around New Mexico for the purpose of achieving full and complete compliance with any and all of the requirements and objectives of this statute;
B. any persons charged under this statute with the duty to supervise, monitor and control any wolf or to limit the migrations of any wolf shall discharge those responsibilities in full and complete compliance with the following requirements:
(1) it shall be unlawful for any wolf at any time to be located on, or allowed to migrate to, any non-federal lands, state or private lands, within New Mexico;
(2) it shall be unlawful for any wolf at any time to injure or kill a human being in New Mexico;
(3) it shall be unlawful for any wolf at any time to threaten to injure or kill a human being in New Mexico;
(4) it shall be unlawful for any wolf to injure or kill any pet or any livestock of any New Mexico citizen, provided that such pet or livestock is lawfully entitled to be in the location where it is attacked by the wolf;
(5) it shall be unlawful for any wolf to threaten to injure or kill any pet or any livestock of any New Mexico citizen, provided that such pet or livestock is lawfully entitled to be in the location where the threat of attack by the wolf occurs;
(6) any person found in violation of this lawful duty to supervise, monitor and control a wolf or to appropriately limit its migration pursuant to this section shall for each separate offense be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a definite term not to exceed six months in county jail or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500);
(7) any wolf found to be in violation of this section may be captured or euthanized by any New Mexico citizen that encounters that wolf;
(8) any wolf found to be in violation of this section shall be captured and euthanized by any state or county law enforcement official with jurisdiction over the territory in which that wolf is located;
(9) any wolf found to be in violation of this section may be captured or euthanized by any state or law enforcement official at any time during or after the occurrence of the violation or by any New Mexico citizen who is present at the time the violation is occurring;
(10) in the event that it is determined in a state court of competent jurisdiction that a human being has been killed by a wolf in New Mexico in violation of this section, each person charged under the provisions of this section with the duty to supervise, monitor and control the wolf involved in the attack or to limit the wolf's migration shall be guilty of committing an act greatly dangerous to the lives of others pursuant to the provisions of Section 30-2-1 NMSA 1978 if the human being that was attacked was lawfully entitled to be at the location where the attack occurred;
(11) in the event that it is determined in a state court of competent jurisdiction that a human being has been attacked or injured by a wolf in New Mexico in violation of this section, each person charged under the provisions of this section with the duty to supervise, monitor and control the wolf involved in the attack or to limit the wolf's migration shall be guilty of committing an act of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon pursuant to the provisions of Section 30-3-5 NMSA 1978 if the human being that was attacked was lawfully entitled to be at the location where the attack occurred;
(12) in the event that it is determined in a state court of competent jurisdiction that any pet or livestock owned by any citizen of New Mexico has been attacked and killed or injured by a wolf in New Mexico in violation of this section, each person charged under the provisions of this section with the duty to supervise, monitor and control the wolf involved in the attack or to limit the wolf's migration shall be guilty of destruction of property and shall be jointly and severally liable to the owner of the pet or livestock for any damages, including costs caused by or resulting from the attack if the pet or livestock that was attacked or killed was lawfully entitled to be at the location where the attack occurred;
(13) it shall be unlawful for any wolf to be released in New Mexico at any time or in any location unless, prior to the release, an authorized representative of the person charged with the duty to supervise, monitor and control the wolf or to limit the wolf's migration under the provisions of this section provides to the state a certified DNA sample of the wolf that shall be received and retained by the department of game and fish;
(14) it shall be unlawful for any wolf that is the offspring of any wolf released in New Mexico to remain at large within the state of New Mexico for a period exceeding six months immediately following its birth unless, within that six-month period, an authorized representative of the person charged with the duty to supervise, monitor and control the wolf or to limit the wolf's migration under the provisions of this section provides to the state a certified DNA sample of the wolf that shall be received and retained by the department of game and fish;
(15) it shall be unlawful for any wolf released in New Mexico prior to the enactment of this statute to remain at large within New Mexico for a period exceeding six months immediately following that enactment unless, within that six-month period, an authorized representative of the person charged with the duty to supervise, monitor and control said wolf or to limit said wolf's migration under the provisions of this section provides to the state a certified DNA sample of the wolf that shall be received and retained by the department of game and fish;
(16) each DNA sample required to be filed with the state pursuant to this section shall be given a separate and unique identification number issued by the department of game and fish and shall be retained for a period of not less than fifteen years or until it is determined by the department of game and fish that the wolf to which the DNA sample pertains is deceased;
(17) it shall be unlawful for any wolf to be released in New Mexico at any time or in any location unless, prior to the release, each person charged with the duty to supervise, monitor and control any wolf or to limit the wolf's migration under the provisions of this section has signed under penalty of perjury a declaration of responsibility and that declaration of responsibility is delivered to and received by the department of game and fish;
(18) it shall be unlawful for any wolf that is the offspring of any wolf released in New Mexico to remain at large within New Mexico for a period exceeding six months immediately following its birth unless, within that six-month period, a declaration of responsibility pertaining to the wolf is signed under penalty of perjury by each person charged with the duty to supervise, monitor and control the wolf or to limit the wolf's migration under the provisions of this section and that declaration of responsibility is delivered to and received by the department of game and fish;
(19) it shall be unlawful for any wolf released in New Mexico prior to the enactment of this act to remain at large within New Mexico for a period exceeding six months immediately following said enactment unless, within that six-month period, a declaration of responsibility pertaining to the wolf is signed under penalty of perjury by each person charged with the duty to supervise, monitor and control said wolf or to limit the wolf's migration under the provisions of this section and that declaration of responsibility is delivered to and received by the department of game and fish;
(20) each declaration of responsibility executed and filed pursuant to this section shall be retained by the department of game and fish for a period equal to the period that the corresponding DNA sample is retained pursuant to Paragraph (16) of this subsection and shall contain the following:
(a) the identification number assigned by the department of game and fish to the DNA sample of the wolf to which the declaration applies;
(b) the name and social security number of each person who is required to sign the declaration pursuant to this section;
(c) a statement declaring that each person who signs the declaration acknowledges under penalty of perjury that he is, and for so long as the wolf remains at large in New Mexico shall be, jointly and severally responsible for the control, monitoring and supervision of the wolf to which the declaration pertains together with any of its progeny;
(d) a statement declaring that each person who signs the declaration further acknowledges under penalty of perjury that for so long as the wolf identified in the declaration remains at large in New Mexico, he shall be entirely responsible for any failure to properly control, monitor and supervise the wolf or its offspring or to limit the wolf's migration in the event that such failure is determined by a state court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted in any violation of any one or more of the provisions of this act;
(e) any person required by this section to file a DNA sample or a declaration of responsibility with the department of game and fish but who fails to do so within the time permitted shall for each separate offense be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a definite term not to exceed six months in county jail or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500); and
(f) any wolf captured by any state or county law enforcement authority pursuant to the provisions of this section and for which it is determined that there does not exist on file with the department of game and fish a valid certified DNA sample or a valid corresponding declaration of responsibility shall be subject to capture by the department of game and fish and upon capture shall be euthanized by state authorities within ten days of capture; and
(21) all provisions of this section are and shall be applicable to any offspring of any wolf in New Mexico notwithstanding the fact that it may have been born in the wild.
Section 3. CIVIL REMEDIES NOT LIMITED.--Nothing in this act is intended to limit in any way whatsoever any civil remedies that are or may be available under either federal or state law to any New Mexico citizen who is the victim of a wolf attack or that citizen's family.
Section 4. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.
- 12 -