New Mexico

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Titlesort descending Summary
Britton v. Bruin In this case, plaintiff appealed a decision by the district court denying her petition for a writ of mandamus. Plaintiff petitioned the court for a writ of mandamus to stop the City of Albuquerque's effort to control a large population of feral cats in its metropolitan area by “trapping, neutering them, and then returning them” to the location at which they were found. The district court denied the petition for a writ of mandamus because the court held that there was “a plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law.” Also, the court held that because the city’s program did not result in any unconstitutional action, the writ of mandamus was not appropriate. The court affirmed the district court’s ruling, looking only at whether or not there was “a plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law.” The court did not address the issue of whether or not the city’s population control effort was appropriate and should continue. The district court's order denying Petitioner's application for a writ of mandamus is affirmed.
Detailed Discussion of New Mexico Great Ape Laws The following article discusses Great Ape law in New Mexico. New Mexico regulates the possession of great apes by administrative regulation and reference to the federal endangered species list.This prohibition applies primarily to private ownership by the general public. There is a list of commercial uses that are allowed, however. Like other states, New Mexico does not define great apes as “endangered,” either under its own endangered species law or any regulations. It does, however, cover them by reference to federal law. New Mexico prohibits any possession, transport, commerce, or taking of federal protected endangered species.
Eldorado Community Improvement Association Inc. v. Billings In this case, Eldorado Subdivision sued some residents who kept hens as pets at their homes. The subdivision had a covenant (Section 11) that disallowed “animals, birds, or poultry” on residents' lots unless kept as “recognized household pets." The defendant-residents claimed that their hens were pets and thus met the household pet exception in the covenant. The lower court agreed with the subdivision and ordered the owners to remove the hens. On appeal, this court looked at the actual language of the covenant, which the court did find to be "unclear and ambiguous." However, the court found that if the residents did not want poultry as household pets, it is reasonable to assume the residents would have removed language that anticipates poultry as household pets. The court here found that the lower court applied the wrong precedent and should have applied a case that favored free use of the land because the covenant is ambiguous. The ruling should not be based on what the developer of the subdivision may have had in mind in writing Section 11 or how community members would interpret its meaning. Instead, the court found that the Section 11 does not disallow hens as pets and rebuffed plaintiffs' "Chicken Little-esque view" that "the sky will fall" if chickens were permitted as pets. In fact, the court observed that if the lot owners want a different result, they must change Section 11 through the election process set out in the covenants. The judgment of the lower court was reversed.
Garcia v. Village of Tijeras


Plaintiffs appeal from a judgment upholding the constitutionality of an ordinance of the Village of Tijeras, New Mexico banning the ownership or possession of a breed of dog “known as American Pit Bull Terrier.” The District Court of Bernalillo County upheld the ordinance and plaintiffs appealed. The Court of Appeals found that plaintiffs had notice that the ordinance proscribes the conduct in which they were engaged; thus, it was not void for vagueness. With regard to the argument that the ordinance violated substantive due process, the court found that ordinance was rationally related to legitimate village purpose of protecting the health and safety of the community. Finally, the court found that the ordinance did not violate procedural due process where the ordinance provides that a hearing is held after impoundment to determine whether the dog is a pit bull.
NM - Assistance Animal - Assistance Animal/Guide Dog Laws The following statutes comprise the state's relevant assistance animal and guide dog laws.
NM - Cruelty - Consolidated Cruelty Statutes This section comprises the New Mexico anti-animal cruelty provisions. As used in this section, "animal" does not include insects or reptiles. Cruelty to animals occurs when a person mistreats, injures, kills without lawful justification or torments an animal or abandons or fails to provide necessary sustenance to an animal under that person's custody or control. Extreme cruelty to animals, a fourth-degree felony, consists of a person intentionally or maliciously torturing, mutilating, injuring or poisoning an animal or maliciously killing an animal. Upon conviction, the court may order a person to participate in an animal cruelty prevention program or an animal cruelty education program, or to obtain psychological counseling for treatment of a mental health disorder. In 2023, the state passed a law to outlaw bestiality.
NM - Dangerous Animal - Chapter 77. Animals and Livestock. This New Mexico statute provides that it is unlawful for any person to keep any animal known to be vicious and liable to attack or injure human beings unless such animal is securely kept to prevent injury to any person. It is also unlawful to keep any unvaccinated dog or cat or any animal with any symptom of rabies or to fail or to refuse to destroy vicious animals or unvaccinated dogs or cats with symptoms of rabies.
NM - Disaster Planning - New Mexico Emergency Operations Plan The New Mexico All-Hazard Emergency Operations Plan has an Emergency Support Function (ESF) that deals with animal safety provisions. In addition to food safety, livestock, and zoonotic disease concerns, the plan addresses the "safety and well-being of household pets, service animals, farm animals, and zoo animals during an emergency response or evacuation situation."
NM - Dog - Consolidated Dog Laws These statutes comprise New Mexico's dog laws. Among the provisions include municipal powers to regulate dogs, vaccination requirements, and provisions related to dangerous dogs.
NM - Dog Bite - Chapter 77. Animals and Livestock. This short New Mexico statute provides that state health department shall prescribe regulations for the reporting of animal bites, confinement and disposition of rabies-suspect animals, rabies quarantine and the disposition of dogs and cats exposed to rabies, in the interest of public health and safety.

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