Target: Chris Ponse, Grant County Commissioner and Current Board Chairman
Goal: Thank Grant County, New Mexico officials for taking a stand for wildlife.
This previous ForceChange petition called out Wildlife Services for senselessly killing wildlife. Now, this agency is being called out by entire counties. Grant County commissioners in New Mexico recently voted 2-1 against renewing a contract with the USDA Wildlife Services, which kills precious wildlife such as mountain lions, bears, wolves, and coyotes on behalf of livestock farmers.
Commissioners claim this federal agency blatantly ignored requirements within its last contract; for example, Wildlife Services reportedly priortized killing over 1.5 million animals rather than trying longer-term, non-lethal methods of co-existence. Commissioners say that money spent towards trapping and poisoning native wildlife woul dbe better spent on other projects, such as country road maintenance.
Another vote, when all 5 commissioners are present, will be taken to solidify the decision. Sign this petition to thank Grant County commissioners for continuing to promote non-lethal methods of wildlife management and encourage other counties will follow suit.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Commissioner Ponse,
We at the ForceChange community would like to thank you for declining to renew a contract with the USDA Wildlife Services after the agency failed to follow-through with requirements of previous contracts. Rather than try to implement cost-effective, longer-term strategies to coping with native wildlife, this agency has prioritized the lethal trapping and poisoning of bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves.
Thank you for your commitment towards wildlife conservation and for standing up to this undeserving federal agency. We hope other counties will follow in your footsteps and reject the senseless killing of our nation’s wildlife.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Yathin S Krishnappa
Wildlife Services contracts should be ENDED EVERYWHERE NOW. They’re nothing more than guns for hire, contracted mostly by ranchers who would rather kill wildlife than take responsibility on their own to invest in and use non lethal deterrents.