ACTION ALERT: Do you have a story about a dog caught in a trap or snare even if it was not your dog? Many animals, including dogs, are unintentionally brutally killed or injured in snares. Contact Governor Dayton, share your story, ask him to eliminate wildlife snaring.
Gov. Dayton phone #: 651-201-3400, toll-free: 800-657-3717
Gov. Dayton contact form: http://bit.ly/1EDwQgh
Please share your story with us. It may be used to pass legislation. Email: info@howlingforwolves.org
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Bill in Legislature tries to save dogs from accidental trappings
by: DOUG SMITH , Star Tribune
- March 18, 2015 – 10:27 AM
Dogs continue to be trap victims, and a controversial bill in the Legislature aims to change that
“It was like she just disappeared,” Nordby recalled this week.
She and her husband, Daren, and three kids searched, called neighbors and then authorities, fearing their hunting dog had been stolen. That night, the family hand-fed Lily’s puppies to keep them alive.
Rosie Nordby found Lily the next day, dead in a body-gripping trap set in a ditch about 750 feet from her family’s house.
Lily was one of at least 34 dogs caught accidentally in traps in Minnesota last year and among five that were killed. Since 2012, the Department of Natural Resources says 75 dogs have been caught in traps and snares, and 17 died. A group pushing for trapping restrictions claims at least 25 dogs have been killed during that time.
The issue, which gained attention in 2012 when the Legislature tightened some trapping restrictions in response to dog deaths, is again being scrutinized. A bill was introduced this session that further stiffens trapping regulations to reduce or eliminate accidental dog deaths.
Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration has testified in support of the measure.
Supporters say the changes made three years ago haven’t stopped the accidental trapping of dogs.
“We need to do something so our pets don’t get killed anymore,” said Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, author of the bill.
The Minnesota Trappers Association and the Minnesota Forest Zone Trappers Association both oppose the measure, saying the proposals would greatly limit the effectiveness of trappers.
“Trappers want this issue to go away more than anyone,” Gary Leistico, an attorney representing the Minnesota Trappers Association, testified Tuesday at a Senate hearing in St. Paul. “We’ll continue to work with everyone, but this bill … does much more than what it’s claimed to do. It would not allow meaningful trapping in Minnesota.”
The Minnesota Forest Zone Trappers Association also opposes the bill, as does Michael Tucker, who runs a wildlife removal service and is a member of the National Wildlife Control Operators Association. Tucker told legislators the bill would severely limit the ability of businesses like his to remove problem animals.
Trappers reduce predators of ground-nesting game birds, such as raccoons, skunks, mink, fox and coyotes, the groups say.
And a section in Hoffman’s bill requiring body-gripping traps used near water to be fully submerged would greatly reduce the taking of beavers, who cause damage to culverts and roads around the northern half the state, opponents say.
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“You’re taking away the most effective way to trap beaver,” said Randy Goldenman of Zimmerman, who traps beaver for Sherburne County. “I catch up to 200 a year.”
Hoffman says his bill isn’t meant to be anti-trapping and wouldn’t inhibit trapping. “It will just make it safer for dogs and our pets,” he said.
The issue is an emotional one and drew impassioned testimony. Among those testifying in support was a handler for a search-and-rescue dog, the executive director of a Cloquet animal shelter that took in a dog injured in a trap and several hunters.
Loren Waalkens of Lake City, whose beagle, Frisbee, was caught in a body-grip trap in 2011, pleaded with senators to tighten regulations. Though he saved his dog with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he said Frisbee now has breathing problems related to the incident.
And Waalkens said when he hunts rabbits he’s constantly concerned his dogs will encounter another trap. “It’s taken the joy of hunting from me,” he said. “Please do something about this.”
Kurt Boerner, an upland bird hunter from Wayzata, said his English setter had a close encounter with a trap, and since then he’s been on a quest to tighten trapping laws. He’s quit hunting when trapping season begins and told outstate friends not to come to Minnesota to hunt during trapping season.
“The problem isn’t trappers, it’s the regulations,” he testified.
Tim McCauley of Fridley is a board member of Dog Lovers 4 Safe Trapping MN, which has pushed for tighter trapping laws, too. He no longer hunts public lands in Minnesota during the trapping season, either, for fear of losing a dog.
“I won’t take the risk,” he said in an interview. “It would ruin my life if I lost my dog.”
Restrictions passed in 2012 require trappers to use a 7-inch overhang when using baited body-gripping traps on public lands. The overhang is intended to prevent dogs from sticking their heads in the trap to reach the bait.
Trapping proponents say the restriction is working. But the DNR reports that since 2012, 15 dogs have been trapped in boxes with overhangs.
Rosie Nordby’s dog was caught in a body-grip trap recessed in a box. The trap was recessed 6 inches, meaning it wasn’t legal. Two of the five dog deaths in 2014 were in illegally set traps.
Some, including DNR officials, say even if the recess had been a legal 7 inches, it probably wouldn’t have saved Lily because of the trap’s location. Meanwhile, the trapper was cited.
“The fine was a whopping $100,” Nordby said.
Exposing the Big Game 
If there’s only one thing that is good to be said about expansion of human settlement into wildlands, is that inevitably there will be a huge clash with trapping rights. And trappers will lose.
Reblogged this on The Metal Hare's Mix.
Trappers are degenerate scum. They don’t just kill animals, they torture them first.
Trapping is terrible.
All trapping should be illegal. If people live in cities or in rural areas, animals should not be allowed to roam either. Hunters, trappers, and other dangers are out there.
My Last Breath
It was Monday January 7th 2016, a day I will never forget. It was about 7:45 in the evening, when my mom & dad got home and we went out to take our normal hike. It was our usual crew, my mom, dad and sister. We went about 3 blocks from the house down on the farms where my parents have permission to hike. We have always believed in enjoying the outdoors while getting some exercise. This time of year, the sun sets earlier but we started our hike anyway. Like most young boys, I am curious and I lagged behind to check things out. I figured I would catch up but for some reason my senses lured me into the woods. It was a bit scary but what the heck, let me check it out! It was just a little ways into the woods and that’s where my story took a turn for the worst. Out of nowhere, I felt something wrap and tighten around my neck. Who is doing this? I couldn’t see and it was so tight! I was literally being strangled. Was I being stalked? Who could do such a thing??? I struggled with all my might. I couldn’t scream out for help because my voice box was being crushed. I struggled and the more I did, the worse it got. It became silent …things were going black. I couldn’t see anyone or hear anything. I was bleeding, foaming out of my mouth and trying to eke out even the slightest amount of air but my ability to do so was limited and fading quickly. Time was running out. I could hear my mom and dad calling for me frantically. I could see a flashlight nearby and the whole time I could hear my dad but I couldn’t move, so he never saw me. It was freezing cold at 17 degrees outside and I was unable to call out. My body was limp and my hope was beginning to fade away. I started to give up but somehow I knew I had to try to live. My mom, dad, sister, friends and family…. I would never see them again! What did I do to the person who did this to me? Why would they leave me like this? Why didn’t they just kill me and put me out of my suffering? The pain was excruciating! I was so confused, scared and dying. In the distance, I could faintly hear the calls for me and it made me fight to hang on. Just then, I saw the light coming back in my direction and could hear my dad as he was heading my way. An hour and 10 minutes had gone by. Could this be it? Will I be able to hang on? Finally, I saw the light shine my way and instantly heard my dad call my name. I could hear in his voice panic and desperation as he approached me dying in the snow. He tried frantically to get the wire off me as he called out for help. “Help me!! Help me!! He is dying. I need help!!!!” I could hear it in his voice, the man I trusted most was feeling helpless and scared. He pulled and clawed at the wire until his fingers were raw with absolutely no luck. I was tangled up so tight, he could barely get his fingers between the wire and my neck. Just then, my mom came up and desperately realized we needed some type of tool to help me breathe. She ran as fast as she could to get more help. Eventually, our neighbor, John, came up with pliers and gave them to my dad to cut through the wire but it wasn’t working. Now, at least an hour and a half had gone by and I could feel the life slipping away from my body. I was taking that last breath and my body started to convulse in a way that is hard to explain. I was going to die in my dad’s arms. Just as that was happening, my dad and John got the wire off and I gasped for air. They saved me!!! I ran to my mom as she approached with whatever strength I had left in me. My dad was instantly overcome with emotion and John helped him back to the truck where I was being cared for.
My name is Riley and I am 9 years old. I am a dog. I love my owners (parents) and they love me. I was just out for a walk. Please be careful as these snare traps do not know who you are or what you are. They will kill you and within a few days you will be found dead and discarded. Can you ask yourself why? I am not just a dog!!! Just ask the ones that love me.
Riley
Unfortunately, the steal trap is ubiquitous in the U.S., Canada and other countries as well. Millions of innocent animals are suffering and dying because of them. Often, it is only when a domestic pet gets caught in one, that the general public then becomes aware of this horrible torture device. All trapping should be “Illegal.” This is a medieval device, used by “game agencies” ranchers, hunters and trappers. Often, hunters will set traps while waiting in their deer blind, just to pass the time. The Livestock Industry also condones and utilizes traps to kill coyotes, mountain lions, and any other wild animal they deem a “threat” to cows or sheep. It is a terrible slaughter going on in our National Forests, wilderness areas, even Wildlife Refuges.
for more info and to sign the petition on trapping visit: wwwforanimals.org and stealtraps.com
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