2025 State Animal Protection Legislation
The 2025 New Mexico legislative session has started and will continue through March 22. Here’s where we will be posting updates on the status of our priority legislation, as well as other animal-related legislation. Sign up for our emails for the very latest updates.
Animal Protection Voters Priorities
HB 113: Animal Welfare Program and Trust Fund
Sponsors: Rep. Tara Lujan, Rep. Reena Szczepanski, Rep. Joseph Sanchez, Rep. Cynthia Borrego, Sen. Joseph Cervantes, Rep. Michelle Abeyta, Rep. Anita Gonzales, Rep. Rebecca Dow
House Bill 113 will establish the Animal Welfare Program Fund within the New Mexico Department of Finance & Administration, which would disburse funds as grants and contracts for animal welfare services and programs. County and municipal governments, Tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations would be eligible to apply for funding to cover a wide variety of programs and projects to bolster animal welfare and public health & safety via New Mexico’s dog and cat shelters and rescues, law enforcement and animal control agencies, and community programs.
Status Updates:
- 2/5/25: Amended to include “or an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo” and passed out of House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs Committee with unanimous support (8-0 vote)
- 3/5/25: Passed out of the House Appropriations & Finance Committee (11-0 vote)
- 3/8/25: Passed the House Floor (58-0)
- 3/21/25: Passed out of the Senate Finance Committee (11-0 vote)
- 3/22/25: Passed the Senate Floor Vote (30-1)
- Moved to the Governor’s desk
HB 284: Promoting the Humane Management of Free-Roaming Horses
Sponsors: Rep. Matthew McQueen, Sen. Pat Woods
New Mexico is home to many herds of free-roaming horses that are not under federal management. While these horses are often cherished by communities, in some areas they lack adequate protection and face degraded habitat, increasing conflicts with wildlife and other uses of land. This legislation updates current law by allowing local governments to take the lead on free-roaming horse protection and management by working with qualified experts who are registered with the New Mexico Livestock Board. These experts would need to be skilled in determining the land’s carrying capacity, use best available science, and use humane methods to stabilize herd size and relocate horses when necessary. This bill also ensures there are guardrails to prevent the slaughter of New Mexico’s wild and free-roaming horses, as well as to preserve our landscapes.
Status Updates:
- 2/13/25: Passed out of the House Agriculture, Acequias & Water Resources Committee (7-0 vote)
- 2/28/25: Passed out of the House Judiciary Committee (9-1 vote)
- 3/5/25: Passed the House Floor (54-4 vote)
- 3/11/25: Passed Senate Conservation Committee (5-2 vote)
- 3/20/25: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee (6-0 vote)
- 3/21/25: Passed the Senate Floor Vote (38-0)
- Moved to the Governor’s desk
SB 5: Game Commission Reform
Sponsors: Sen. Pete Campos, Sen. Peter Wirth, Rep. Matthew McQueen, Sen. Crystal Brantley, Rep. Nathan Small
Senate Bill 5 will modernize wildlife management using science-based methods, stabilize the New Mexico Game Commission by shielding members from politics, and bring much needed funding to the Department of Game & Fish. Currently, Game Commission members are not required to have specific qualifications related to wildlife management, and the Department is largely focused on managing species that are hunted and fished. Thus, neither entity reflects New Mexicans’ growing appreciation for watching, photographing, and otherwise enjoying wildlife through non-consumptive means. Animal Protection Voters is part of a wide coalition supporting this legislation, meeting on common ground so that all New Mexicans can enjoy thriving wildlife populations for generations to come.
Status Updates:
- 1/27/25: Passed the Senate Rules Committee (6-3 vote)
- 2/8/25: Passed out of the Senate Conservation Committee (5-3 vote)
- 2/27/25: Passed out of the Senate Finance Committee (9-1 vote)
- 3/1/25: Passed the Senate Floor Vote (28-12)
- 3/5/25: Passed out of the House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Committee (6-4 vote)
- 3/12/25: Passed the House Floor Vote (42-26)
- Moved to the Governor’s desk
SB 26: Protection Against Abuse and Violence Act
Sponsors: Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Rep. Pamelya Herndon, Rep. Tara Lujan, Rep. Diane Torres-Velásquez, Sen. Angel Charley, Sen. Cindy Nava
New Mexico’s law against family violence needs updates, including the addition of provisions to recognize animal abuse with the intent to harm or intimidate someone is a form of domestic violence. The law should also allow companion animals to be included in protective orders. Both changes would better protect domestic violence survivors and their beloved animals by allowing them to swiftly escape abuse together. Animal Protection Voters is part of a coalition advocating for broad reforms to the Family Violence Protection Act.
Status Updates:
- 2/13/25: Passed out of the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee (6-4 vote)
- 3/12/25: Scheduled for a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee
- Awaiting a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee
SB 358: Equine Welfare Trust Fund
Sponsor: Sen. Carrie Hamblen
This bill would create the Equine Welfare Trust Fund, an investment fund that would generate earnings that would flow to the existing Equine Shelter Rescue Fund, which is administered by the New Mexico Livestock Board (NMLB). These funds are distributed to the state’s registered equine shelters to address New Mexico’s unique and growing challenges in caring for homeless and abused equines. When the NMLB seizes equines from cruelty situations, or impounds abandoned equines, they turn to the network of registered non-profit equine shelters to care for and rehabilitate those animals.
Status Updates:
- 2/27/25 passed out of the Senate Conservation Committee (4-3 vote)
- Awaiting hearing in the Senate Finance Committee
Other Bills APV Supports
SM 3: Beaver Population & Management Plan
Sponsors: Sen. Peter Wirth, Sen. Carrie Hamblen
Senate Memorial 3 calls for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF), the Forestry Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), and the State Land Office (SLO) to collaborate in developing recommendations for a comprehensive statewide beaver management plan. This legislation acknowledges the positive impacts of healthy North American beaver populations on watershed health and seeks expert guidance on formulating a statewide management strategy.
Status:
- 3/5/25: Passed out of the Senate Rules Committee (6-0 vote)
- 3/11/25: Passed out of the Senate Conservation Committee (4-3 vote)
- Awaiting a vote on the Senate Floor
HB 111: Search for Missing Qualified Service Animal (“Ivy’s Law”)
Sponsors: Rep. Marian Matthews, Rep. Eleanor Chávez, Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, Rep. Meredith Dixon
House Bill 111, also known as Ivy’s Law, would increase protections for qualified service animals during emergencies. Once notified by the owner, trainer or handler that a service animal is missing, first responders, to the extent practicable and while prioritizing human safety and security, would be required to make a reasonable effort to search for the animal. The bill is named after Ivy, a service dog who perished under debris after a city water main caused the roof of her house to collapse in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Status:
- 1/11/25: Passed out of the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee (6-0 vote)
- 2/17/25: Passed out of the House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs Committee (9-0 vote)
- 2/27/25: Passed the House Floor Vote (59-8)
- 3/6/25: Passed out of the Senate Conservation Committee (5-3 vote)
- Awaiting a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee
HB 366: Veterinarian As Health Practitioner
Sponsor: Rep. Gail Armstrong, Sen. Linda Trujillo
This legislation would render non-compete clauses, for veterinarians, unenforceable upon the termination of their agreements or employment, which would likely increase the availability of veterinary professionals working in their communities and in New Mexico, resulting in greater welfare for animals who find themselves in need of medical care.
Status:
- 2/21/25: Passed out of the House Health & Human Services Committee (10-0 vote)
- 3/8/25: Passed out of the House Judiciary Committee (6-0 vote)
- Awaiting a vote on the House Floor
SB 21: Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Act
Sponsors: Sen. Peter Wirth, Rep. Kristina Ortez, Sen. Bobby Gonzales
This bill will establish authorities for the State of New Mexico to take over federal permitting for waters that have federal protections under the Clean Water Act. New Mexico is one of only three states in the nation that currently leaves this up to the Environmental Protection Agency, so permits for waters still protected under the Clean Water Act aren’t issued here in New Mexico but from a regional office in Dallas. Cruel, environmentally devastating mega-dairies and CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) are frequent sources of water pollution required to be permitted and regulated.
Status:
- 1/30/25: Passed out of the Senate Conservation Committee (6-3 vote)
- 2/12/25: Passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee (6-3 vote)
- 2/21/25: Passed out of the Senate Finance Committee (6-4 vote)
- 2/26/25: Passed on the Senate Floor (25-16 vote)
- 3/4/25: House Agriculture, Acequias & Water Resources Committee (5-2 vote)
- 3/11/25: Passed out of House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee (5-4 vote)
- Awaiting a vote on the House Floor
SB 70: Add Racketeering Crimes
Sponsors: Sen. Craig Brandt, Rep. Catherine Cullen
This bill will update our state’s racketeering law, commonly known as the RICO Act, by adding dog fighting and cockfighting to the list of violations. Adding organized animal fighting to our RICO statute will bring our state’s statute in line with what law enforcement professionals here and across the country have long known: that animal fighting rings are often part of larger criminal enterprises that include drug and arms trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and more. Using the RICO statute to interrupt animal fighting rings means better protection not just for the animals harmed and killed, but for our communities.
Status:
- 3/1/25: Passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee (8-0 vote)
- 3/4/25: Passed out of the Senate Finance Committee (10-0 vote)
- 3/6/25: Passed the Senate Floor Vote (38-0)
- 3/12/25: Passed out of the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee (8-0 vote)
- 3/20/25: Passed out of the House Judiciary Committee (10-0 vote)
- 3/21/25: Passed the House Floor (60-0)
- Moved to the Governor’s desk
SB 291: Enforcement Of Game & Fish Laws
Sponsor: Sen. Crystal Brantley
SB 291 would extend the authority of State Parks law enforcement to include the enforcement of Chapter 17, related to game and fish statutes. If passed this bill would mandate that the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Conservation Officers enforce the entire Criminal and Motor Vehicle Code by removing the ‘under emergency circumstances’ qualifier and the limitation to specific statutes.
Status:
- Awaiting a hearing in Senate Conservation Committee
Anti-Animal Legislation
HB 319: Quail as “Game Bird” & Raising Without Permit
Sponsors: Rep. Stefani Lord, Rep. John Block
This bill would allow unpermitted and unregulated domesticated quail keeping and breeding, which could have damaging effects on New Mexico’s native wildlife populations and ecosystems.
Status:
- Awaiting a hearing in the House Agriculture, Acequias & Water Resources Committee
SB 323: Increasing Horseracing Days at New Mexico Race Tracks
Sponsors: Sen. Candy Ezzell, Sen. James Townsend, Sen. William Sharer, Sen. Larry Scott and Sen. Nicholas Paul
This bill will expand the number of days horses could be raced at New Mexico racetracks. The New Mexico horse racing industry has been plagued with continued doping controversies, which often result in gruesome injuries and deaths for untold numbers of racehorses, which has been widely covered by national media.
Additionally, as highlighted by the State Racing Commission, the decades long, nationwide decline in racehorse breeding, additional race days will further strain the decreasing number of racehorses and negatively impact their health, safety, and welfare. Forcing fewer horses to run more races in New Mexico is a recipe for cruelty and disaster.
Status:
- 3/11/25: Scheduled for a hearing in Senate Tax, Business & Transportation Committee
- 3/11/25: Heard in Senate Tax, Business & Transportation Committee and being held in this committee
SB 412: Equine Dental Maintenance Bill
Sponsor: Sen. Candy Ezzel
This bill would remove equine dentistry from the Veterinary Practice Act. This would mean that a non-veterinarian could perform procedures without proper authorization to administer the drugs necessary to sedate or medicate an animal properly. Without oversight from the Vet Board, and proper training, dental practitioners could cause significant harm. We anticipate this bill would result in the suffering of equines, financial damages for equine owners, and liability issues for anyone facilitating equine dental care.
Status:
- 2/22/25: Passed out of the Senate Conservation Committee(8-0 vote)
- Awaiting a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee
Looking for legislation from years past? View our bill archive.
