Myth: Trapping is humane and selective

Despite what trappers would have you believe, animals frequently sustain severe injuries from being trapped. When not killed outright by the trap, animals can suffer physiological trauma, dehydration, exposure to severe weather, and predation by other animals until the trapper returns – which can be days or even weeks between trap checks. When the trapper returns he usually clubs, suffocates or strangles the animal to death. Fur trappers rarely shoot trapped animals because bullet holes and blood reduce a pelt’s value.

Traps set in or near water are designed to drown aquatic mammals, which can take up to 20 minutes for some species. The American Veterinary Medical Association deems drowning to be inhumane and a 1999 study concluded “drowning cannot be considered euthanasia.”

Most traps are notoriously indiscriminate, capturing almost any animal that triggers them. Sometimes called “trash” animals by trappers, non-target species that have been found in traps include threatened and endangered species, raptors, DOMESTIC DOGS and CATS, and even HUMANS. These animals can sustain the same injuries as target species. Even if released, they may perish later from internal injuries or reduced ability to hunt or forage for food.

The most commonly used trap in the U.S. is the steel-jaw leghold trap, a restraining trap with spring-loaded steel jaws that clamp on an animal’s foot or leg when triggered. Leghold traps can cause severe swelling, lacerations, joint dislocations, fractures, damage to teeth and gums, self-mutilation, limb amputation, and often a slow, painful death. The steel-jaw leghold trap has been declared inhumane by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, and the National Animal Control Association, and has been banned or severely restricted by more than 80 countries and 8 U.S. states.

Dick Randall, a former federal trapper, told Congress, “My trapping records show that for each target animal I trapped, about two unwanted individuals were caught. Because of trap injuries, these nontarget animals had to be destroyed.” Nontarget animals – including pets – comprised 76% of all animals captured in leghold traps in a 1981 study.

Historically, poorly regulated trapping almost wiped out beaver, sea otter, lynx, wolverine, cougar and other species in many areas of the U.S. Today, some state wildlife management agencies continue to allow the trapping of highly sensitive species, including wolverine, fisher, marten, kit fox, and lynx. For example, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) considered listing the Canada lynx under the Endangered Species Act, Montana continued to allow lynx to be commercially trapped — even when a 1999 U.S. Forest Service report concluded, “Lynx appear to be extremely susceptible to trapping, and where trapping is permitted it can be (and has been) a significant source of mortality.” Unfortunately, because population modeling and furbearer data collection are so poor in many states, we do not know the impact trapping has on sensitive species — often until it is too late.

Hunting: Choose fair chase, not trapping

Hunting season is approaching, and, although I no longer hunt, I still feel the stirrings of the primordial urge to go out and bring wild game back to my cave. Through the years, most of my friends have also been hunters. Barring a very few bad apples, they all share with me the dedication to “fair chase” when it comes to bagging a deer or elk.

Central to the fair chase is being sure that one makes a clean, humane kill. Ideally, the animal “didn’t know what hit him.“ Wounding an animal and having to track it down to finish it off is deeply regretted, not just because of the extra time and effort it takes, but because of the hunter’s remorse that he has caused the animal unnecessary pain and suffering. I believe Fish, Wildlife and Parks even has regulations requiring a hunter to make every effort to not allow a wounded animal to escape and die a slow, painful death.

And yet, there is a “sport” in which an integral part of the activity involves causing an animal great physical pain and emotional trauma, even under the most ideal conditions. This sport is called trapping and, far from being condemned by the FWP as one would expect of such a cruel, inhumane activity, it is condoned, licensed, and they are now offering classes.

Any hunter who believes in fair chase should denounce the whole idea of trapping, and should demand that it be prohibited. It not only is unnecessary (fur bearers for the most part do not need to have their numbers held in check as herds of deer or elk do) but, by association, it gives a black eye to legitimate hunting.

John Ohrmann, Drummond

(published in the Missoulian, Oct. 2012)

[ed note: NRWM is not arguing for the abolishment of trapping, but reasonable and human regulation.]

Trapping Myth No. 8: Man is a predator

Many trappers take pride in outfoxing the foxes, outwitting the coyotes, and will tell you predatory humans are just part of the natural order.   But there’s nothing natural about steel leg-hold traps or letting an animal suffer for days or weeks while the trapper watches TV in his heated home.  Most importantly, man is what he chooses to be. Man can choose to be humane.

Do humans get caught in traps?

The Nevada Trapper’s Assoc. emphatically says “NO! This never happens.”   But, of course, they’ve ignored the data.

…..

TrailSafe added this on Sept. 22, 2014:  Two local cases, thoroughly documented. One was a hiker in Griffith Canyon, snared by the ankle. The other was a hiker near Gardnerville, snared by the foot. Details at TrailSafe.org

…..

Reported: Jan 14, 2011

Location: Geneva, Illinois, Species: Human

Trap Type: Leghold, Incident Date: Jan 09, 2011

Victim’s Disposition: injured
Victim’s Name: private

Summary: A 65-pound husky/collie mix was nearly choked to death by a steel snare trap during a walk with it’s owner. The owner later went back to the area to post a note to the hunter letting him know that the trap nearly killed his dog and to get rid of the traps before someone gets hurt, when the man himself was caught in a separate trap. His boot triggered a 6-inch diameter, rusty-toothed claw trap just 15-yards from where his dog was caught. The Fire Department had to cut the claw trap off of the man’s boot. The dog is recovering, and the man was unhurt due to his heavy boots. There was a third bucket trap nearby with a piece of bait inside. All three traps were illegally set. (Source: Daily Herald newspaper)

…..
Reported: Jan 16, 2009
Location: Malcolm, Nebraska  Species: Human

Trap Type: Kill, Incident Date: Dec 26, 2008

Victim’s Disposition: minor injuries
Victim’s Name: withheld

Legal Action: Yes
Result: Ban on trapping wildlife in county road rights of way

Summary: A bill before the Nebraska state legislature earned a uniquely qualified witness when a Lancaster County Commissioner stepped into a Conibear trap placed in a ditch near his farm. He was wearing good boots and wasn’t seriously hurt. But the trap was large enough to catch a coyote or a beaver — even a farmer — and the commissioner couldn’t open it with his hands. So he hobbled to his truck for a crowbar. He reported the incident to the state Game and Parks Commission. The trap’s owner could not be traced because the trap did not have an ID number [ed note: Nevada no longer requires trap registration]. The commissioner, of course, testified against the bill, which sought to eliminate restrictions and penalties for trapping wildlife in county road rights-of-way. (The ban went into effect on 05/05/09.  Source: Lincoln Journal Star)

…..

Reported: Oct 24, 2007  Location: Stony Plain, Alberta

Species: Human   Trap Type: Other
Incident Date: Oct 24, 2007

Victim’s Disposition: injured
Victim’s Name: unknown

Summary: A woman walking her dog in Hasse Lake Provincial Park spotted the trap. Fearing it could be dangerous for children or dogs, she tried to disable it by fiddling with some levers on the back, but it clamped shut on her hand. Two fishermen managed to pry the trap open. She managed to escape without any broken bones, but she says she plans to ask both the county — which has confirmed it owned the trap — and the provincial government why the trap was there without warning signs. (Source: Calgary Sun)

…..
Reported: Jan 11, 2004
Location: Webster Parish, Louisiana

Species: Human (16 yr old girl)
Trap Type: Kill
Incident Date: Jan 11, 2004

Victim’s Disposition: unknown
Victim’s Name: unknown

Summary: A 16-year-old girl was caught by the foot in a trap set for beaver. The girl was wearing lace-up boots and was caught on the heel. She escaped without injury. (Source: Shreveport Times)

…..

Reported: Apr 12, 2002

Location: Abbotsford, British Columbia

Species: Human (13 yr old boy)
Trap Type: Kill
Incident Date: Apr 10, 2002

Victim’s Disposition: injured
Victim’s Name: unknown

Summary: Picton Park, near a city-owned ravinein a trap set for beaver. (Source: Vancouver Sun)

…..

 

Red fox brutally dispatched by trapper

WARNING THIS CLIP IS GRAPHIC: A red fox, caught in a leghold trap and killed by the trapper’s foot crushing his chest. One of the widely used and archaic killing methods we discovered.   Click here to watch the video.

View the investigation findings at http://www.bornfreeusa.org/victimsofvanity In early 2011 Born Free USA and Respect for Animals conducted a landmark investigation inside the world of fur trapping.  They uncovered the shocking cruelty and brutality involved in the trapping of wild animals for the fur trade.

US Wildlife Services: The Killing Agency

This is a powerful, well researched and well written piece on our taxpayer-funded federal Wildlife Services.   Here are a few excepts:

Since 2000, its (Wildlife Services) employees have killed nearly a million coyotes, mostly in the West.  They have destroyed millions of birds, from nonnative starlings to migratory shorebirds, along with a colorful menagerie of more than 300 other species, including black bears, beavers, porcupines, river otters, mountain lions and wolves. [Click here to see statistics.]

In most cases, they have officially revealed little or no detail about where the creatures where killed, or why.  But a Bee investigation has found the agency’s practices to be indiscriminate, at odds with science, inhumane and sometimes illegal.

…..

Gary Strader, an employee of the US Dept of Agriculture [Wildlife Services], stepped out of his truck near a ravine in Nevada and found something he hadn’t intense to kill.   There, strangled in a neck snare, was one of the most majestic birds in America, a federally protected golden eagle.

“I called my supervisor and said, ‘I just caught a golden eagle and it’s dead.’  He said ‘Did anybody see it…if you think nobody saw it, go get a shovel and bury it and don’t say nothing to anybody.”

…..

A dog owner’s anguish

Sharyn Aguiar writes about the death of her German Shepherd Max, who poisoned by a government M-44 sodium cyanide cartridge in Utah in 2006.

“I kneeled at the top of his head, bending over him, crying and trying to figure out what happened to him. I remember crying out ‘I don’t understand, I don’t understand’ as I looked at his mouth. His mouth had a pinkish/salmonish colored foam coming from it.”

[Click here to see more Wildlife Mysteries Revealed.]

…..

This investigation’s findings include:

• With steel traps, wire snares and poison, agency employees have accidentally killed more than 50,000 animals since 2000 that were not problems, including federally protected golden and bald eagles; more than 1,100 dogs, including family PETS; and several species considered rare or imperiled by wildlife biologists. [For more on trapping problems, click here.]

• Since 1987, at least 18 employees and several members of the public have been exposed to cyanide when they triggered spring-loaded cartridges laced with poison meant to kill coyotes. They survived – but 10 people have died and many others have been injured in crashes during agency aerial gunning operations since 1979.

• A growing body of science has found the agency’s war against predators, waged to protect livestock and big game, is altering ecosystems in ways that diminish biodiversity, degrade habitat and invite disease.

See the full story and the many interesting attachments at: Sac Bee

Why we allow trappers on our Facebook page

I’ve been asked why we allow trapping advocates on our Facebook page.   I’d like to say that we believe open dialog will help find common ground, but there’s little evidence to support that. While I still hope for meaningful dialog, here’s another reason we not only allow but encourage them.

Our lawsuit against the Commission and NDoW is based, in part, on the idea that the processes have been unfairly biased in favor of the voice of a few tappers at the expense of the general public; that this bias is by design; that the Commission has been co-opted by the trappers who control the process through a combination of bullying and coercion, while the Commission has substituted trappers’ wishes in place of science; that democracy is for sale in Nevada and wildlife is being managing as the personal property of the trappers. In short, our Wildlife Commission has sold out and can no longer be trusted to act in good faith on our behalf.

The more we draw trapping advocates into the light, the more we get them to speak openly, the better for our case. Everything posted here can be used as evidence in court – they’re making our case.

Trapping Myth No. 7: Death by trapping is more humane than death by natural causes

The natural cycle of life and death helps maintain genetic diversity and a strong gene pool. Trapping is indiscriminate. Trapped mothers are killed, leaving litters to die.  Many traps are set on or in creeks to kill by drowning, and some animals suffer for up to 20 minutes under water.   Young animals are killed. Old or sick animals may survive instead of young and healthy, since the healthier animals spend more time foraging and thus cover more ground and are more like to encounter a trap. Trapping does not balance nature; it upsets the balance. There is nothing humane about trapping.

Trapping Myth No. 6: Trapping provides important income for many American families

Trapping and fur industry proponents claim trapping provides a viable income for many Americans. However, surveys show that most trappers trap for a little extra income, basically as a hobby with a small commercial incentive. In response to a 1997 API survey, state wildlife agencies indicated that income from trapping was either extremely low or non-existent. A 1992 Missouri Department of Conservation study reported that “approximately 30% of all trappers in 1991 reported no household income from trapping … Most trappers reported earning small incomes from trapping. This suggests that motives other than monetary gain are also important to trappers.

The trapping of wildlife for profit is an anachronism in today’s society, and runs directly counter to The North American Wildlife Conservation Model which bans taking wildlife for commercial gain. Its blatant cruelty can no longer be masked under the guise of economics or wildlife management. However, the trapping/fur lobby is powerful and well-funded, and countering its entrenched political power requires dedicated, passionate citizens who recognize that wildlife has intrinsic worth above and beyond its economic value. We encourage you to get involved.