On Tuesday, several wildlife organizations held a public meeting in Santa Fe to discuss ways to change that regulation and to provide information on how to safely cohabitate with wildlife.

Williams was one of the speakers. After telling her story, she stressed that killing the bear that attacked her was not mandated by law but by a New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) regulation.

During Williams’ appearance before the legislature’s Water and Natural Resources Committee meeting on July 14, the state’s public health epidemiologist contended that since it is possible for bears to get rabies, they should be tested for it when they bite a human. The only way to test for rabies is to kill the animal.

Williams examined the 1965 study that tested bears’ susceptibility to rabies.

“They took 10 black bears and three grizzly bears and they injected them with a huge amount of rabies that they acquired from an arctic fox,” Williams said.
According to Williams, all three grizzlies and four of the black bears contracted rabies. Of the four black bears, only one exhibited rabies in its saliva, which is the only way the disease can be passed on to a human through a bite.

“So why are we picking on bears?” Williams asked.

Williams suggested changing the regulation to include bears in an exception currently listed for rabbits and rodents, but she was not hopeful about that option.

“I can say that my impress of the public health epidemiologist is, he’s not going to change his mind,” Williams said. “So I think we’re going to have to just do a law.”

Stephanie Garcia Richard (D-Dist. 43) is working with Williams on that. Williams urged those attending the meetings to email their legislators in support of such a change.

“I do know if I’m ever attacked by a bear again before this law or regulation is changed, I’m going to say it was a herd of bats, and then nobody’s going to go after a bear,” Williams said.

Jessica Johnson, chief legislative officer for Animal Protection Voters (apvnm.org), informed attendees of her organization’s preliminary research into available options.

“Ever since we heard Karen’s story, this is something that really interested us, because the overwhelming response, of course, is first of all horror and relief that she’s still here with us today, but also then dismay that the bear had to be put down,” Johnson said.

“But it was a mandate and there was no opportunity for any kind of discretionary, circumstance-based approach.”

Johnson agreed with Williams that although changing the regulation would be the simplest approach, that is unlikely to happen with the state epidemiologist opposed to the change.

“From what I have been told, unlike in other agencies where there’s a board that makes rule-making decisions, apparently it’s just the Secretary of Health that has sole decision-making power. And they would probably in the rule-making process hold a public hearing, but then the decision is just on that one person,” Johnson said.

Johnson believes that legislation could be enacted that would supersede the DOH regulation.

An audience member asked if there is resistance to such a change due to fear of legal liability.

“I think it’s true that the more black and white a law or regulation is, the easier it is to administer,” Johnson replied, but noted that of 12 western states surveyed about their laws and regulations on this issue, only four (including New Mexico) have the “black and white” mandate.

“Eight of them have laws and regulations that allow them to take into account the circumstances of the attack, how likely that species is to have rabies and transmit rabies and to take a discretionary approach,” Johnson said.

“So it seems like it’s possible to take a more nuanced approach, which is what I think we’re talking about…We’re never going to say that we don’t care that much about public health. But we think we can do that while still taking into consideration that wildlife is a shared natural resource held in the public trust.”

Other organizations participating Tuesday were WildEarth Guardians, Defenders of Wildlife and the Northern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club.

Elise Goldstein, New Mexico Department of Game & Fish assistant chief for wildlife, spoke about bear and cougar biology, how to avoid predator attacks and what to do if attacked.

Much of the discussion centered on how to be safely cohabitate with wildlife.

“Wildlife is here, and we’re constantly impinging on it. We’re constantly pushing it back and we’re constantly in its habitat and developing its habitat, whether it’s urban sprawl or whether it’s oil and gas development or, in some cases, even traditional ranching has expanded and become more of a factory farm,” said Teresa Seamster, chair of the Northern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club.

“We’re continually moving into their habitat, and we have to learn how to understand how to live with it.”

Seamster suggested that those planning events such as Valles Caldera Runs need to reconsider both the course and the timing of their races. She has heard that one group is considering a moonlight race through the backcountry “right at the time that bears come out to feed.”

“The summer is when these animals are active. They’re raising young, so you have to kind of know where you are,” Seamster said. “You can’t just be oblivious and say, we’re going to have a race here because that’s what we want to do.”