JOURNAL INVESTIGATION
Reports detail wolf trappings across state
No charges have been filed in the cases, two of which are redacted
Published
Modified
Lifelong trapper Wesley Burris makes a bold claim: His father trapped and killed the last remaining lobo in New Mexico in the 1930s, around the time the subspecies was wiped out in the state.
Burris said his family has been ranching around the San Mateo Mountains since the early 19th century, with as many as 3,000 head of cattle at one time.
"They had lots of trouble with wolves and mountain lions and bears," Burris said. "That's where my people was raised. 鈥� Back then there was no fences, there was no nothing. It was wide open country."
Before wolves were protected in the 1970s, Burris said he trapped three in the White Sands Missile Range area, skinned them and sold the pelts.
In the decades since, Burris said he has spent much of his time trapping coyotes and other predators to help protect ranchers' cattle.
"If a rancher or farmer or somebody has a problem, if they know there's trappers in the area, that's who they go talk to, and they take care of the problem," he said.
The intentional trapping, killing or injuring of Mexican gray wolves has been illegal since their reintroduction, although exceptions are allowed with government approval. Despite stricter protections, wolves have increasingly been caught in private traps, sometimes with deadly consequences.
Burris, who lives in Socorro County, said he has never caught a wolf while trapping to protect cattle but considered the hypothetical.
"I guess if we were trapping and we caught a wolf and they were having wolf problems, that would be the end of that wolf," the 86-year-old said. "I would call the game warden and he, if he wants to, he can stand there and watch me kill him, or he can kill him."
Tom Paterson, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, said ranchers deal with predator conflicts every day, adding, "It's not just wolves or coyotes."
Paterson said Catron County has a professional trapper who specializes in predator mitigation. Trapping is a "relatively effective way" to address livestock depredations, he said.
"The science says the most effective way to deal with depredations is lethal removal," Paterson said. "I assume that's for coyotes as well as for wolves and other species, because it teaches the pack 鈥� if that's what you're dealing with 鈥� that that's not acceptable behavior, and they back off."
He said cattle growers have an obligation to protect their livestock.
"At the same time," he added, "we encourage every rancher to know and follow the law."
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 鈥� both from 2025 鈥� 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. 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, according to the reports.
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.
A quarterly wolf program report said 1788 was found dead in New Mexico in November 2023 and was believed to have been killed by another wolf or other animal.
"AF1788 was the only remaining member of the Squirrel Springs pack, which is now defunct," the report said.
During the investigation, officers spoke with a rancher who held a grazing permit in the area but said no one had trapped there for years. After officers explained the trap appeared new, the rancher said he had hired someone to trap there the previous month but had forgotten the trapper's name.
Game and Fish traced the trap to the trapper, who said he had pulled his traps but forgot one after its chain broke, according to the report. An officer said he planned to cite the man "for not checking his traps every calendar day."
The report states the trapper "understood and was very sympathetic."
A year later, the same trapper caught two wolves. He told Game and Fish he released both with a catchpole, but one was found dead about 150 yards away.
The trapper said he was helping a different rancher control coyotes during calving season. He told officers he had not reset the traps because "he did not want to catch any more wolves, as he thought there may be more in the area."
According to quarterly reports, the second wolf later died.
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.
The officer found no other traps nearby, though a cow carcass lay close to the site. The trap had no identifying information, so authorities set trail cameras to try to identify whoever had set it.
"Due to the lack of suspect or trap owner information, I do not know if any of the exemptions of 17-11-4 NMSA pertain to this trapping incident. Furthermore, it is unknown if the individual who set this trap was intending to use it for livestock protection," the report states, citing the law that exempts landowners from certain rules, regulations and licensing requirements.
Matt Reisen is a senior reporter for the Journal. Reach him at mreisen@abqjournal.com or (505) 823-3563.
