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NM Game Officials To Consider Ending Trapping Ban

By KRWG News

New Mexico – ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRWG) The New Mexico Game Commission is considering a recommendation to end a trapping ban in southwestern New Mexico where federal officials have been working to reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf.

The commission is expected to make a decision on the recommendation during its meeting Thursday in Clayton.

Regulated furbearer trapping on the Gila and Apache national forests was banned last summer by former Gov. Bill Richardson. The commission extended the ban last fall so researchers could study the risks of trapping and snaring to wolves.

Conservationists are accusing the Game and Fish Department of colluding with trapping and livestock groups to influence the commission's decision.

Despite a public records request, they say the agency refused to provide information related to meetings held with industry groups. The department denies those claims.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. KRWG