New Mexico’s state land commissioner banned organized animal-killing contests on state lands on Thursday, calling coyote derbies a “brutal, barbaric, inhumane practice.”

Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard https://www.facebook.com/sgr4nm/ : "Today I signed my first State Land Office Executive Order. These are not hunting contests. They are animal cruelty contests. It is an inexcusable practice, and today I used my authority to ban organized killing contests of unprotected species on any of the nine million acres of State Trust Land that I am charged with overseeing. The position of the State Land Office under my direction is that all wildlife are sacred and all wildlife play a vital role in our environment. This action does not restrict a ranchers ability to humanely remove or kill an animal causing harm to agriculture or domestic pets on State Trust Lands. What we are addressing is the blood sport where participants kill dozens of animals without sound justification and play for cash and prizes."