0001| HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 63 | 0002| 42ND LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, | 0003| 1996 | 0004| INTRODUCED BY | 0005| CISCO MCSORLEY | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| | 0011| A JOINT MEMORIAL | 0012| REQUESTING THE COURTS, CORRECTIONS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE | 0013| COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE LAWS AGAINST POACHING TO RECOMMEND | 0014| IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE EFFECTIVE PREVENTION OF POACHING AND TO | 0015| REAFFIRM THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTROLLING THE PROBLEM OF WILDLIFE | 0016| POACHING AND ENSURING PUBLIC SAFETY. | 0017| | 0018| WHEREAS, this memorial has been written by students from | 0019| the following New Mexico schools: Alameda elementary school, | 0020| Canoncito middle school, Jefferson middle school, Laguna-Acoma | 0021| middle/senior school, Los Lunas high school, Moriarty middle | 0022| school, Polk middle school and Thoreau middle school; and | 0023| WHEREAS, poaching, the illegal taking of wildlife, is a | 0024| tremendous problem in our state and in the United States; and | 0025| WHEREAS, poaching is done by commercial poachers stealing | 0001| wildlife for profit as well as people who do not understand | 0002| their contribution to a very serious problem, and poaching | 0003| endangers people and property; and | 0004| WHEREAS, poachers operate worldwide, illegally trading | 0005| wildlife parts that are worth more on the black market than | 0006| cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin. A bear's gallbladder, for | 0007| example, can bring up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) on the | 0008| black market in Asia, and such illegal trade is often connected | 0009| to weapons and drug crimes; and | 0010| WHEREAS, poachers often deal in bear gallbladders, paws and | 0011| meat, eagle feathers, elk antlers, bobcat pelts, snake skins, | 0012| walrus tusks and trophy heads of many animals; and | 0013| WHEREAS, poachers prey particularly on western populations | 0014| of black bear, grizzly bear, elk, moose, deer, bighorn sheep, | 0015| mountain lion and snakes; and | 0016| WHEREAS, horrendous crimes against our wildlife heritage | 0017| have been committed in New Mexico; and | 0018| WHEREAS, the department of game and fish estimates that for | 0019| the twenty thousand deer taken legally each year, up to fifty | 0020| thousand additional deer are taken illegally; and | 0021| WHEREAS, overhunting and overfishing due to poaching is | 0022| detrimental to lawful hunting and fishing and endangers the | 0023| health of the whole resource; and | 0024| WHEREAS, poaching is often a violent crime resulting in | 0025| death or injury to landowners, innocent witnesses and law | 0001| enforcement officers and damage to property; and | 0002| WHEREAS, the anti-poaching laws of the states may be | 0003| inconsistent, ineffective and inadequately enforced; and | 0004| WHEREAS, penalties for poaching seem not to be a sufficient | 0005| deterrent to poachers; and | 0006| WHEREAS, the wild friends youth of New Mexico have made | 0007| improvement of poaching laws a priority for action in 1996; and | 0008| WHEREAS, magistrate judges should receive education about | 0009| the seriousness of the poaching problem, its effects, and the | 0010| laws concerning it through the state judicial education center, | 0011| and magistrate judges need to enforce the fines, penalties and | 0012| sentences for convicted poachers; and | 0013| WHEREAS, magistrate judges are not well enough aware of the | 0014| current poaching laws and the devastating effect poaching has on | 0015| the state's wildlife; and | 0016| WHEREAS, not only their property and livestock, but the | 0017| very lives of farmers and ranchers are at risk from poaching | 0018| criminals; and | 0019| WHEREAS, there are not enough conservation officers to | 0020| cover the huge tracts of land where poaching occurs; and | 0021| WHEREAS, we want people living in rural areas to have a | 0022| greater measure of safety from the violence and property crimes | 0023| associated with poaching; and | 0024| WHEREAS, an end to poaching will require not merely a | 0025| vision of ideals and morality, but rather a hard objective plan | 0001| to be reached through public support and effort; | 0002| NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE | 0003| STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the courts, corrections and criminal | 0004| justice committee be requested to examine existing penalties for | 0005| poaching and to consider increasing penalties for poaching and | 0006| illegal hunting on, or shooting onto, property without the | 0007| owner's permission; and | 0008| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the appropriate committee be | 0009| requested to study revenue enhancements for wildlife law | 0010| enforcement through such means as the fish and wildlife | 0011| diversity funding initiative; and | 0012| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that public education about the | 0013| problems of poaching be increased, citizens be encouraged to use | 0014| the operation game thief hotline and that hunter education about | 0015| poaching be offered to all hunters; and | 0016| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the judicial education center | 0017| be encouraged to train magistrate judges about the enforcement | 0018| of poaching laws; and | 0019| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be | 0020| transmitted to members of the courts, corrections and criminal | 0021| justice committee, the department of game and fish, the judicial | 0022| education center and the New Mexico legislative council. | 0023|  State of New Mexico | 0024| House of Representatives | 0025| | 0001| FORTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE | 0002| SECOND SESSION, 1996 | 0003| | 0004| February 8, l996 | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| Mr. Speaker: | 0008| | 0009| Your RULES AND ORDER OF BUSINESS COMMITTEE, to | 0010| whom has been referred | 0011| | 0012| HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 63 | 0013| | 0014| has had it under consideration and finds same to be | 0015| GERMANE in accordance with constitutional provisions. | 0016| | 0017| Respectfully submitted, | 0018| | 0019| | 0020| | 0021| | 0022| Barbara A. Perea Casey, | 0023| Chairperson | 0024| | 0025| | 0001| Adopted Not Adopted | 0002| | 0003| (Chief Clerk) (Chief Clerk) | 0004| | 0005| Date | 0006| | 0007| The roll call vote was 9 For 0 Against | 0008| Yes: 9 | 0009| Excused: Knowles, Lujan, Nicely, Ryan, J. G. Taylor, Wallach | 0010| Absent: None | 0011| | 0012| HJ063RC1 |