Wolf Trappings in New Mexico

Summary:

CATRON COUNTY, NM – Since 2022, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has investigated at least six cases of wolves caught in private traps, most set to protect livestock, according to reports obtained through a state Inspection of Public Records Act request.

At least four wolves died as a result, including one that died immediately after being released and another that died several days later. Two reports — both from 2025 — were heavily redacted, revealing only the possible charges: killing a Mexican gray wolf and unlawful possession of a Mexican gray wolf.

It is unclear whether anyone has been charged. When asked for comment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it does not discuss active investigations. Two traps were set in Catron County, including one on public land, and another was set in Sierra County. Two of the reports involve the same trapper, a man in his 80s who faced a possible citation after a wolf was found alive in one of his traps near Horse Springs in 2022.

Game and Fish identified the female wolf as 1788, an alpha from the Squirrel Springs pack, and determined she had been trapped for seven days. Data from the Western Watersheds Project showed the wolf was treated for kidney failure, had her right leg amputated and was rereleased into the wild.

The most recent unredacted report, from 2024, involved a wolf found dead in a trap on public land in Catron County. Officers determined the wolf had been trapped for nine days. A Game and Fish officer and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent found the female wolf’s “severely emaciated” body at the base of a ponderosa pine. Her GPS collar was wrapped in duct tape decorated with orange flowers.

Result: