Did you see us on the news? Millions of dollars of spay/neuter program funding hangs in the balance, and we are still fighting every step of the way for New Mexico families to be able to access important community services for their beloved animals.
This week, KRQE aired a piece highlighting the ongoing battle: NM non-profits say more money needed for spay and neuter services statewide. From the story:
“Since 2020, the state has charged pet food manufacturers a fee to sell their products here, with the money earmarked for spay and neuter programs. Currently, the Department of Agriculture has collected over three million dollars of spay-neuter funds,’ said Jessica Shelton, Animal Protection NM.
To this day, programs haven’t seen a dime of it. That’s because the Pet Food Institute filed a lawsuit challenging the fees in 2020. The money has been tied up in litigation ever since.”
It’s true. The lawsuit by the Pet Food Institute—the national corporate lobbying group for pet food manufacturers—has caused enough fear and uncertainty that, up until now, millions of spay/neuter funds have been collected but frozen in place. And while the New Mexico Board of Veterinary Medicine has finally opened the grant application process for a portion of that money, another part of state government—NM Department of Justice lawyers—is urging that money to stay frozen rather than supporting the full implementation of state law.
New Mexicans were clear about the need for spay/neuter funding when legislation passed in 2020 to create this funding stream. It’s time the law gets implemented, and funding reaches the animals and people who need assistance. Further delays are simply unacceptable.
Here are three things we want to be sure you know:
- Animal Protection Voters is now directly involved in the lawsuit, so that we can vigorously defend the affordable spay/neuter law and the fees it enacted.
- We remain actively engaged with the New Mexico Board of Veterinary Medicine, pushing for and supporting their efforts to distribute the spay/neuter fees despite the fearmongering lawsuit.
- Unfortunately, the affordable spay/neuter law will expire next year—unless the State Legislature acts soon to extend it. In the 2026 state legislative session, it’s imperative that the Legislature extend, or better yet, remove the law’s “sunset date” of July 1, 2026: the date upon which the law, and any spay/neuter funding collected under it, is set to disappear.
So here are some important actions you can take:
- Make sure your local spay/neuter service providers know about funding available right now. The Board of Veterinary Medicine is accepting grant applications through July 17, 2025. Learn more and share: apnm.org/spay-neuter-fund-faqs/
- Share the KRQE story: Spread the word with your friends and family, on social media, and in every place you can so that people know that spay/neuter funding is available—and that it is under threat by a lawsuit and an approaching “sunset date.”
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/nm-non-profits-say-more-money-needed-for-spay-and-neuter-services-statewide/ - Start contacting your State Lawmakers and urge them to vote to extend the sunset date of the affordable spay/neuter law (Senate Bill 57 passed in 2020)—or better yet, remove the sunset date altogether to establish a permanent law. These dollars are critical for the health and wellbeing of our human and animal communities. Your voice is needed now to prevent the Pet Food Institute and the NM Department of Justice lawyers from stalling the process long enough so that not a single penny ever reaches a spay/neuter clinic—and the clock runs out. Find your State Representative and State Senator and their contact information here.
The next few months will set the stage for whether New Mexico will keep its affordable spay/neuter law . . . . or if dog and cat overpopulation will continue to crush New Mexico communities and create untold suffering.
Your actions today make a difference.
Thank you for using your voice to speak up for your community and animals alike.
