Enforcement News

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Dan Williams, (505) 231-5375 Public contact: (888) 248-6866 dan.williams@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JUNE 5, 2015 CAPITAN MAN KILLS CHARGING BEAR LINCOLN – A 25-year-old Capitan man shot and killed a charging bear while looking for shed antlers in the Lincoln National Forest. The man was not injured by the bear. He reported Thursday evening that he was searching for antlers in the forest between Carrizozo and Capitan when he encountered the bear as he came over the top of a hill. He told officers that the bear charged and he shot it with his .30-30 caliber rifle from about 10 yards away. Department of Game and Fish Officers investigated the incident and recovered the carcass of the bear, an adult female, early Friday morning. There was no evidence to indicate the presence of cubs. Referring to the man who shot the [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Karl Moffatt, (505) 476-8007 Public contact: (888) 248-6866 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JUNE 2, 2015 BEAR SOUGHT IN ATTACK ON SHED HUNTER LINCOLN – Department of Game and Fish officers are searching for an adult black bear involved in the attack of a 55-year-old man in the Lincoln National Forest on Monday afternoon. The Lincoln County man suffered deep flesh wounds from scratches on his chest and a bite to his leg. He was treated and released from Lincoln County Medical Center in Ruidoso. Conservation officers were searching for the bear Tuesday so it can be tested for rabies. The New Mexico Department of Health will interview the victim to assess his potential exposure and the need for rabies vaccinations. Rabies in bears is rare but it is a nearly 100 percent fatal disease, so every precaution will be taken. The [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Clint Henson, (575) 445-2311 Public contact: (888)-248-6866 clint.henson@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MAY 29, 2015: OFFICERS KILL PUPPY-EATING COUGAR RATON – Department of Game and Fish officers killed a cougar in a Raton neighborhood Thursday night after it had attacked a puppy on a woman’s front porch. The woman had called 911 saying she saw a small cougar attack her puppy. She later told officers that she had lost another puppy a few days before and also was missing several cats. Officers found cougar tracks and blood near the woman’s porch and called a local houndsman, who quickly treed a cougar near the home. A subsequent necropsy confirmed that the young female cougar recently had eaten a puppy. Conservation Officer Clint Henson said the cougar might have been drawn to the woman’s house because a neighbor was feeding feral cats. “Leaving uneaten [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Lance Cherry, (505) 476-8003 Public contact: (888) 248-6866 lance.cherry@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, APRIL 8, 2015: CLOVIS MAN PAYS $8,110 FOR CATCHING 160 TIMES HIS LIMIT OF TROUT CLOVIS – A Clovis man convicted of illegally possessing more 1,600 trout – more than 160 times the limit -- agreed to pay $8,110 in civil penalties after accepting a plea agreement. Bounchanh Bounsombath, 63, was arrested in May 2014 after Department of Game and Fish conservation officers seized the trout during a search warrant at Bounsombath’s home. Bounsombath admitted to catching all of the fish at Green Acres Lake and Denis Chaves Pond in Clovis. Most of the trout were in one-gallon zip lock bags containing two to four trout per bag. All of the trout had been salted and dried before being frozen. Under the plea agreement in [...]