ANIMAL PROTECTION OF NEW MEXICO INC

Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) is committed to providing quality educational services to New Mexicans of all ages and backgrounds, focusing its efforts in communities where animal abuse and neglect is endemic, as measured by the APNM animal cruelty hotline and by media reports, and where opportunities arise. APNM’s educational outreach components include: (a) EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS: APNM delivers live presentations in Bernalillo County Community centers that use audio-visual aids to imbue upon youth the importance of responsible companion animal care; presentations provide information on the realities of pet overpopulation and the importance of spay/neuter programs; the program collaborates with therapy dog organizations and gives youth the opportunity to observe the proper and careful methods of interaction with companion animals;

(b) SCHOOL BASED INTERVENTIONS: APNM implements 4-week and 12-week pilot programs in targeted elementary schools that teach students to understand the realities involved in caring for animals; lesson plans meet statewide educational standards and benchmarks; students gain empathy for animals and engage in team projects that teach math, research and communication skills; follow up programs are offered to 7th and 11th grade students in the same school system, providing the opportunity to measure longitudinal changes in knowledge and attitudes among the participants;

(c) COMMUNITY OUTREACH: APNM maintains a presence at numerous community events throughout the state; tabling and information dissemination occurs throughout the year at
schools, universities, and community events;

(d) NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY OUTREACH: Upon request, Animal Protection of New Mexico is providing educational outreach to New Mexico's Native American communities.  Areas of interest include:  the availability of spay/neuter and vaccination services, socializing dogs through good stewardship and loose dog/bite safety for children.

Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) is committed to protecting from harm New Mexico’s equines, reminding New Mexicans of equines’ crucial role in New Mexico’s history and heritage. Drought and economic recession have contributed greatly to problems for horses and horse owners throughout the state. Reacting to the lack of comprehensive program services for equines in New Mexico, APNM developed two key initiatives:

(a) EQUINE PROTECTION PROGRAM, which seeks to address the long-term needs of equines in New Mexico by creating effective programs that keep equines with their families and out of the
slaughter pipeline;

(b) THE EQUINE PROTECTION FUND (EPF): In 2018 the EPF passed the milestone of bringing relief to over 1,000 equines! The EPF was set up through the New Mexico Community Foundation and makes designated contributions to APNM for the purposes of feed assistance, gelding assistance and veterinary services for equine shelters, individuals and for agencies enforcing animal cruelty laws. APNM processes the applications with a quick turn-around to help struggling families provide quality care for their equines, and to assist shelters and agencies with equine-related assistance. Programs currently available include temporary help feeding equines, subsidies for a veterinarian to geld stallions/jacks, and subsidies for humane euthanasia and disposition of elderly/ill equines. The EPF also maintains a statewide Volunteer Network, caring individuals throughout the state that receive and respond to emails about urgent needs for neighboring equines, which may range from transportation and feed to warming blankets and temporary housing. The EPF seeks to raise additional funds to keep up with high demand for assistance and implement and expand other assistance services. Learn more at www.EquineProtection(http://www.equineprotection/) Fund.org.

Animal Protection of New Mexico
(APNM) is committed to securing the permanent sanctuary of the approximately 53 surviving chimpanzees living at the
Alamogordo Primate Facility. These deserving chimps, who are waiting for some peace and dignity at the end of their lives, have not been used in invasive research since 2001 and have done much more than their share for humankind.

These chimpanzees are in New Mexico because in the 1950s, the United States Air Force shipped baby chimpanzees from Africa to Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, for use in space program testing. After chimps were no longer useful in the
space program, they were used in biomedical testing, and were owned by a series of labs and institutions.

The most infamous biomedical research institution in New Mexico was run by Dr. Frederick Coulston, recipient of many millions in federal and private contracts for cruel and sloppy research. At one point The Coulston Foundation in Alamogordo owned over 600 chimpanzees in a successful effort to become the world’s largest chimpanzee research colony.

In 2000, public pressure about horrific animal deaths and falsified research resulted in formal government sanctions against The Coulston Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health seized
288 chimpanzees and housed them all on Holloman Air Force Base.

 APNM has led a grassroots campaign to permanently retire these chimps, generating public outcry from broad and diverse stakeholders and policymakers. Funding for all chimp research has finally stopped, thanks to the release of an independent scientific study that found most current biomedical research on chimpanzees to be "unnecessary.”

Find out more at www.RetireTheChimps.org

APNM works to promote coexistence between human communities and New Mexico’s wild species, particularly historical "problem” animals including cougar, bear, coyote, beaver, and prairie dog. Reflecting a philosophy of collaboration rather than confrontation, APNM has worked with
governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the public to create and manage the following programs:
(a) COUGAR SMART NEW MEXICO – A coordinated effort between APNM and state and federal land management agencies to educate on safety when recreating in cougar country and to promote coexistence rather than persecution of New Mexico’s native cougar populations;
(b) LIVIING WITH BEAVERS – APNM has developed resources and materials to assist property owners on resolving conflicts with beaver via nonlethal methods and to promote the ecological benefits of beaver activity;
(c) TRAP FREE NEW MEXICO – APNM is a member of the TrapFreeNM coalition, which seeks to end the cruel, dangerous, and unsustainable practice of trapping and poisoning wildlife on New Mexico’s public lands;
(d) BANNING KILLING CONTESTS - In 2019, APNM and its legislative arm, Animal Protection Voters, as well as many other partners across the state, succeeded in banning coyote killing contests in New Mexico. NM became only the 3rd state to ban these grotesque body-count contests;
(e) WILDLIFE ADVOCACY – APNM works with other advocacy groups, agencies, and the public to promote nonlethal and humane management of wild species whenever possible.

Improving the lives of animals and those who care about them in towns throughout New Mexico through a variety of community-based projects and initiatives: Improving local animal control ordinances; funding law enforcement training for animal control/welfare officers; providing safe and secure fencing so people have alternatives to chaining their dogs; supporting local animal shelters; promoting spay-neuter initiatives. Humane Communities initiatives are pursued in numerous locations, including McKinley, Valencia, Mora, San Miguel, Guadalupe, and Santa Fe Counties.

Through Animal Protection Voters, improving local, state and federal laws that impact animals' lives.

About every four to five years, Animal Protection of New Mexico honors champions for animals in up to 13 categories at its Milagro Awards gala. Honoree categories include Advocacy Award, Animal Award, Direct Animal Services Award, Humane Citizen Award, Media Award, Law Enforcement Award, Humane Education Award, Mary Jane Garcia Champion for Animals Award, Lawmaking Advocacy Award, Board of Directors' Award, Executive Director's Award, Spirit of the Mission Award, Youth Award. A comprehensive documentary is created and published about each winner.

When it comes to animal abuse, there is none more systematic, extensive, or harmful than that perpetrated on farmed animals who wind up as food for Americans. While the misery experienced by farmed animals is unmatched in scope, animal-based food is also responsible for causing unparalleled sickness and death in those who eat animals and their byproducts. In addition, animal agriculture's disastrous contribution to climate-changing methane gas levels in the atmosphere and pollution are well-documented. This combination makes reforming/altering Americans’ diets a significant matter of justice for animals, a matter of planetary survival, and a matter of quality and length of life for humans.

Health statistics in New Mexico mirror national statistics that connect the consumption of animal products with high rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, and obesity-related cancer. New Mexico’s challenges with poverty and lack of access to healthy food create additional obstacles that don’t have to–but often do–lead to poor diets that include processed meat and other harmful animal products.

APNM's plant-based eating program promotes the many benefits of plant-based eating and is aimed at reforming the practices within New Mexico institutions that will lead to a meaningful shift in how and what people eat in our state.