N.M. Stat. § 17-2-31

This is the official text of N.M. Stat. § 17-2-31, part of New Mexico’s Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of New Mexico, published by the state as "Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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§ 17-2-31. Use of artificial light while hunting prohibited

Official statutory text

It is unlawful for a person or a group of persons together in possession or control of a firearm or other implement to throw or cast the rays of a spotlight or other artificial light into any field, pasture, woodland, forest or prairie where big game or domestic livestock may be, or are reasonably expected to be, whereby any big game animal or domestic animal could be killed by aid of an artificial light. However, the following shall be exempt from the provisions of this section:

A. an officer authorized to enforce the game and livestock laws of the state;

B. a government employee acting in an official capacity;

C. a landowner or lessee or employee of such landowner or lessee, while on the land owned or leased in connection with legitimate activities; or

D. a person who has received a permit or authorization from the department of game and fish to conduct such activities.

Status: in_force

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.