Enforcement News

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Clint Henson, (575) 445-2311 Public contact: (888)-248-6866 Email: clint.henson@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 1, 2017: Information sought on poached elk near Logan TUCUMCARI – New Mexico Department of Game and Fish game wardens are seeking information about a poached elk whose skeletal remains were found May 25 off Trigg Road about eight miles west of the intersection of N.M. 39 approximately four miles north of Logan. Conservation Officer Justin Heppler suspects the bull elk was killed within days of its discovery and was butchered for its meat. The head and antlers also were missing and only the skeletal remains and some scraps were left behind. Anyone with information about this case or any other wildlife crimes is urged to call the department’s toll-free Operation Game Thief hotline, (800) 432-4263. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for rewards if charges [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt: (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 1, 2017: Illegal possession of elk antlers leads to stiff fine SILVER CITY – A judge has ordered a Silver City man to pay the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish $4,000 for illegal possession of a set of trophy elk antlers. Hidalgo County Magistrate Mark Thomas issued the judgement in a recent civil case against Michael C. Aguirre, 40, of Silver City, according to court records. The case stemmed from a November 2015 traffic stop near Cliff, where Aguirre was questioned by game wardens about a trophy set of elk antlers found in the bed of his pickup. Aguirre told the officers he picked up the antler rack while deer hunting with his son. The antlers were still attached to part of [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt: (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, May 22: New game wardens graduate from Law Enforcement Academy SANTA FE – Two New Mexico Department of Game and Fish game wardens graduated from the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy in Santa Fe on Thursday. The department’s graduates of the 16-week law enforcement training academy are: Ariel Perraglio of Kirtland and a graduate of New Mexico State University. Christian Marrujo of Roswell and a graduate of the University of New Mexico. In addition to the attending the law enforcement academy, conservation officers, also known as game wardens, undergo four weeks of departmental training in wildlife laws and department policies and procedures. They also undergo many months of on-the-job training under the supervision of a field training officer before being assigned to a district. For more information [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt: (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, APRIL 7, 2017: Trophy poachers face stiffer fines, increased jail time SANTA FE – Trophy poachers who kill bighorn sheep, ibex, oryx, Barbary sheep, elk, deer or pronghorn antelope without a license or out of season just for the head or horns face increased fines and jail times if convicted. Gov. Susana Martinez has signed legislation that elevates the crime of wasting game from a misdemeanor to a felony, which upon conviction carries a maximum prison sentence of 18 months and a fine of $5,000. Convicted felons also no longer would be able to hunt with a firearm. As a felony, the statute of limitations on wasted game cases increases from two to five years. Out-of-state suspects in such cases also could face extradition under the new [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt: (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MARCH 31, 2017: Game wardens rescue snowbound motorists SANTA FE – Game wardens rescued three men stranded in the mountains of northern New Mexico with no food or water after their truck got stuck in the snow on a remote forest road. The men had gone for a drive in the nearby Santa Fe National Forest after attending a funeral March 27 in Abiquiu, said Conservation Officer Wyatt Harwell. The weather was warm and sunny when the men, one from California, another from Arizona and the third from Abiquiu, set out in a two-wheel-drive Dodge pickup truck. The group drove out of Abiquiu and into the forest on Polvadera Road, intending to emerge at the village of Cañones and return home on a paved highway. The dirt [...]