FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, January 10, 1996
CONTACT:
Grove T. Burnett, (505) 751-0351
Mike Markarian, (301) 585-2591
Elisabeth Jennings, (505) 265-2322
In an eight-page complaint filed this morning, The Fund for Animals, Sangre de Cristo Animal Protection, the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative, the Pueblo of Picuris, and Dine' Care sued the U.S. Department of the Army to rescind permission for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMGF) to hold a bison hunt on the Fort Wingate Depot military installation. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, alleges that the Army failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before authorizing the hunt.
NEPA requires any federal agency to prepare an environmental analysis before approving an activity that may affect the environment. In today's complaint, Grove T. Burnett, attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center representing the plaintiffs, asks for "the issuance of a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining Defendants from taking any actions in furtherance of any bison hunt at the Fort Wingate Depot until Defendants comply with NEPA by preparing an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement."
The bison population on the Fort Wingate Depot is estimated at 60 animals, and the NMGF wants to offer sport hunting permits for nine bison. The hunts are planned for January 13-14, January 20-21, and January 27-28. Bison have not been hunted in New Mexico since 1884.
"Federal agencies must take very clear steps under federal law before authorizing a hunt such as this, and the U.S. Army simply ignored these steps," says Mike Markarian, director of campaigns for The Fund for Animals. "Shooting a docile bison is about as sporting as shooting a parked car."
The Fund for Animals is a national animal protection organization with 1,000 New Mexico members and 200,000 supporters nationwide. Sangre de Cristo Animal Protection is a New Mexico organization with 1,600 members. The Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative represents 37 tribes in 15 states (including six in New Mexico), and the Pueblo of Picuris and Dine' Care are Native American organizations that attach deep cultural and religious significance to bison.
The Fund for Animals has video footage available of a bison hunt outside Yellowstone National Park, during which wounded bison flop on the ground attempting to stand due to spinal cord injuries. For a copy of the footage, please call (301) 585-2591.
VICTORY! On January 26, U.S. District Judge Martha Vasquez ruled in favor of The Fund and ordered the U.S. Army to cancel the bison hunt. To see a copy of the Court's decision, click here.