The New Mexico Game Commission is expected to vote on a proposal that would ease limits on hunting and trapping bears and cougars around the state.
The commission is meeting Thursday in Santa Fe. The agenda includes revised rules that would allow for more black bear hunting in all but two of the state's game management districts as well as the doubling of cougar hunting limits.
The rules would also allow trapping and snaring of cougars on private land and state trust land without special permits.
The Game and Fish Department says new data on population densities warrants an update of the hunting limits.
Wildlife advocates argue that the department's plan isn't based on science and that more hunting will have negative long-term effects on animal populations.
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