Illegal Traps Cause Innocents Harm

Whether the illegal trap be steeljawed leghold traps, conibear traps, or snares, they are all inherently indiscriminate. For every intended victim, there are 2 to 10 unintended victims caught in each trap. Per the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), each year millions of “non-target animals”—domestic dogs and cats, rabbits, deer, songbirds, raptors, livestock, and even endangered species— are injured and killed by illegal traps in the United States. Leghold trap injuries are often so severe that the injured limb of a trapped pet requires amputation. Conibear traps, however, kill many of their unintended victims. Conibear traps frequently clamp down on the chest or pelvis of an animal, crushing bones, blood vessels, and nerves and causing excruciating pain. The non-target wildlife, referred to as “trash” animals, are often just thrown away.

Pets have been illegally trapped along the edges of railroad tracks, running and hiking trails, streams, airport fences, and campgrounds. They’ve been caught under porches, in backyards, agricultural fields, and the middle of cities. They are caught on private property and on public lands, including national and state forests and municipal parks. In other words, illegal traps could be anywhere.

Trappers do not use their catches for food, but rather for the animal pelts themselves, for personal or commercial use.

Trapping in New York is regulated by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), but illegal trappers are rarely prosecuted when a pet is caught in a trap. In most cases, the offending parties do not leave identification on their traps, so they cannot be traced or fined.

It should also be noted that the DEC benefits financially from the trapping trade, so they’re not likely to “bite the hand that feeds them.” Anyone observing an illegal trap should contact the DEC at 877-457-5680. Also, the Animal Rights Federation, a pet protection advocacy group, has been, and will continue to monitor illegal trapping in this area and report offenses to the DEC as well. We can be contacted at 845-249-8880, or by email at animalrightsfederation@ verizon.net.

In addition, the Humane Society of the United States documents cases in which domestic and non-target animals are injured or killed as a result of illegal trapping. The information they collect from their Trapping Case Report form helps them to enact trapping bans and educate the public about the danger of traps. If your companion animal was the unfortunate victim of a cruel and indiscriminate trap, please fill out the form and send it back to them. The form can be found at http:// files.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/WILD_ Trapping_Case_Report_Form.pdf.

We hope that the offending parties in this particular case will be given the maximum penalties, but sadly, that means only about a $250 fine.

We’re very concerned that these youngsters were apparently unsupervised as they rode around with illegal weapons and traps. We will be monitoring the developments in this case, and have FOILed the authorities for all documents and information related to this crime.

We also hope our State office representatives will address the meager penalties associated with these illegal acts, and make the punishment better fit the severity of the crime.

We thank the COURIER for their reporting on this story, and for helping to bring increased awareness of the dangers of illegal trapping. If the public is vigilant and reports suspected cases of illegal trapping, we just may be able to avoid some of the inevitable tragedies in the future.

Tom Maxson is chairman of the Animal Rights Federation, For further information, please visit their website at http://animalrightsfederation.org.