Senate committee backs bill creating framework for free‑roaming horse management, including fertility control and adoption

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would create a statutory framework for managing free‑roaming horses in New Mexico by authorizing adoption or relocation, permitting fertility‑control programs and prohibiting slaughter of adopted or relocated animals, witnesses said.

Supporters described long‑running conflicts in areas such as Placitas, Sandoval and Lincoln counties where free‑roaming and semi‑domesticated horse bands have expanded, causing property damage, safety worries and damage to watersheds. ‘‘In Placitas, we have a 75 free‑roaming, feral, unmanaged horses,’’ said Mike Nees, describing vehicle fatalities and overgrazing he attributed to unmanaged horse bands. County and conservation officials said the bill would allow local entities and the New Mexico Livestock Board to contract with qualified experts to assess range capacity, oversee fertility control programs and coordinate relocation or adoption, with landowner consent for on‑range capture.

Nina Edelman, equine program director at Animal Protection New Mexico, described the bill as a humane, science‑based management tool that would prohibit slaughter and require livestock‑board rules for experts and management contracts. ‘‘This bill provides a framework for the humane and science based management of free roaming horses using all the necessary tools, including the relocation of horses when needed for their well‑being and for the health of the land while providing firm protections for horses against mistreatment and slaughter,’’ she told the committee.

Opponents, including representatives of wildlife and animal‑welfare organizations and land‑grant heirs, warned the bill could remove long‑standing legal protections and facilitate private control of public‑land wildlife, and said past government roundups had resulted in auctions and slaughter. Patience O’Dowd, representing an opposing organization, said the proposal could conflict with existing statutes and federal agency practices, and suggested litigation would follow if horses were reclassified or removed from public‑land protections.

Committee members asked whether the bill allows transport or sale for slaughter; the sponsor said the bill specifically prohibits knowingly slaughtering, selling for slaughter, or causing slaughter of a free‑roaming horse and that the livestock‑board rulemaking would exclude free‑roaming horses from the livestock definition used for ordinary livestock regulation. Supporters and some county officials said the bill would give counties a tool they currently lack to stabilize herd size and protect public safety and range health.

After testimony and questions the committee recorded affirmative votes from several senators and issued a do‑pass recommendation.