内容摘要：Cordelia Bellew walks through a garden displaying James Doran-Webb Driftwood Sculptures at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Cordelia Bellew walks through a garden displaying James Doran-Webb Driftwood Sculptures at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Commissioners in a rural New Mexico county say pets are being snatched from front yards and livestock are being maimed and killed by endangeredthat seem to have no fear of humans, prompting them to declare a state of emergency.

In the latest flash point over efforts to reintroduceinto the western U.S., Catron County commissioners heard nearly three hours of testimony Thursday from frustrated ranchers and concerned rural residents — some of whom traveled from Arizona to attend the packed meeting. Dozens more joined online, including environmentalists and state and federal officials.“For us, for the people in this room, wolves are not some romanticized concept. ... For those of us on the ground, they’re a very real daily threat,” said Tom Paterson, a rancher and president-elect of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association. He’s worried about his grandson playing on the deck, just 100 yards (90 meters) from where wolves killed a steer in February.

County commissioners issued a warning to residents last week to be aware of their surroundings when outdoors and maintain constant supervision of children and pets.The concerns stretch beyond New Mexico, as officials in parts of Oregon and Northern California say gray wolves — the larger, more common cousins of Mexican gray wolves — seem brazen and are killing more livestock. Two California counties declared emergencies in recent weeks and the sheriff in another requested help from state wildlife officials.

Ranchers in New Mexico and Arizona have been at odds with the reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves since the first release in the late 1990s. Despite limited programs for reimbursing certain losses, ranchers say wolves pose a threat to their way of life, which is already challenged by prolonged drought and rising prices.

Environmentalists argue that Mexican wolves should have a place in the Southwest, often criticizing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for not releasing more captive wolves to ensure genetic diversity among the wild population. They contend there’s no incident in recorded history of a Mexican wolf attacking or injuring a person.“I had seven cardiac arrests before I even was sick enough” to qualify for a new heart, said Dr. Robert Montgomery, chief of NYU Langone’s transplant institute. He’s a kidney transplant surgeon — and was lucky enough to get his own heart transplant in 2018.

Filling the gap, he’s convinced, will require using animal organs.Mary Miller-Duffy speaks with Dr. Robert Montgomery in the NYU Langone Health medical center in New York on Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Mary Miller-Duffy speaks with Dr. Robert Montgomery in the NYU Langone Health medical center in New York on Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)After decades of failed attempts, now pigs genetically modified so their organs are more humanlike are renewing interest in so-called xenotransplantation. Last year,