Federal Wolf Liability Act — Cliff Nichols Law

AN ACT

2003

TO MITIGATE THE FORSEEABLE INHERENT DANGERS TO THE LIVES AND PROPERTY OF NEW MEXICO CITIZENS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RELEASE OF WOLVES WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. FINDINGS —

A. The Legislature finds that:

(1) Prior to April 2000 there were no known unconfined wolves existing within the borders of New Mexico;

(2) Since April 2000, there have been a significant number of wolves released upon federal lands to roam within the borders of New Mexico, together with their offspring (hereinafter said wolves including their offspring shall be referred to individually as the “wolf” and collectively as the “wolves”) by employees and/or agents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service either independently or in cooperation with and with the assistance of other individuals under, and pursuant to, the alleged authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973;

(3) By definition, said wolves are by their very nature undomesticated and free-roaming carnivorous predators with the foreseeable and undeniable ability, if not propensity, to threaten and/or inflict death and/or grievous bodily harm;

(4) By virtue of these characteristics said wolves must be found by the State of New Mexico to be inherently dangerous to any human beings they may randomly encounter;

(5) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal authorities have by various means informed the citizens of New Mexico that the lives and well-being of said wolves have the full protection of federal law and that any human being (i.e. New Mexico citizen) found responsible for the death or maiming of said wolves shall be prosecuted by federal authorities to the full extent of applicable federal law, which includes up to one (1) year in federal prison and/or a fine of up to a $1,000.00 per incident;

(6) Following considerable reflection upon the sanctity that is afforded the lives and well-being of wolves under the law, the State of New Mexico has determined thatbasic notions of justice and equity demand that the law also provide the citizens of New Mexico equal, if not greater, protections under the laws of this State as those afforded wolves based on the following three fundamental premises:

(i) The life and physical safety of any individual human being (i.e.New Mexico citizen) is, at minimum, at least of equal value to that of any wolf and, in fact, is of greater inherent value in and to the State of New Mexico than any individual or cumulative benefits that may be claimed by some to be derived from the reintroduction of said wolves in New Mexico under cover of the Endangered Species Act;

(ii) The foreseeable death and/or grievous bodily injury of any individual human being by a species intentionally released in the State of New Mexico under the alleged authority of the Endangered Species Act cannot conceivably have been a permissible or acceptable consequence intended or even foreseen by the United States Congress when the Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973;

(iii) If a citizen of New Mexico may be criminally prosecuted, imprisoned and/or fined for causing the death or bodily injury of a wolf, equity and justice demands that any individual found responsible for unleashing such foreseeably inherently dangerous animals within New Mexico shall also be subject to criminal prosecution, imprisonment and/or fine when it is determined that any wolf or wolves released by that individual has caused the death or bodily injury of any citizen or other human being in the State of New Mexico;

B. THEREFORE, based on the foregoing findings, the legislature hereby declares the following: ...

To find out more or obtain a full copy, please contact Mr. Cliff Nichols at (310) 909-9024.