According to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, trappers should check their traps at least once every day.
The American Society of Mammalogists states, “Snares or foot-hold traps should be checked a least daily, but more frequent depending upon target species, the potential for capture of non-target species, and environmental conditions. Frequent checking of traps is the most effective means of minimizing mortality or injury to animals in live traps.”
Montana has no mandatory trap check time. Trapped animals can suffer for days, even weeks, injured and exposed to the elements. Only bobcat trap sets in designated lynx protection zones and traps set for wolves require checking every 48 hours.
“The longer that animal is in a trap, the more likely you have foot injury, shoulder sprains, vascular damage, neural damage,” said Carter Niemeyer, a retired wildlife biologist.
Thirty six states have 24-hour/daily trap checks in their trapping regulations. House Bill 287 requires daily trap checks and allows for exceptions if a trapper cannot tend to the traps. HB287 helps end prolonged suffering of trapped animals and gives the trap-released non-targets, i.e. raptors, mountain lions, grizzly, deer, lynx and beloved pets a chance to survive.
Trapping is a bipartisan issue.
KC York,
Hamilton
Exposing the Big Game 
Reblogged this on Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting Blog.
This has always struck me as typical of the general view of wildlife in our country – no appreciation of their sentience. Just leave animals in traps for days without checking. If they don’t need checking, they don’t need trapping – period! So much for livelihoods if the traps don’t even need checking. Just wanton disregard and greed. I say general view of wildlife because if the majority of people cared, something would be done about it, and these practices would either be stopped entirely or more closely monitored.
But if someone’s finger even gets a scratch from a bear, it’s torch and pitchfork time in the wild, and worthy of a news report: 😦
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Grizzly-bear-bites-employee-s-finger-at-Denver-Zoo-13563172.php
^^or I should have written, ‘torch and pitchfork time in the wild’, and worthy of several news reports in captivity’. It would seem that some bites and scratches working with animals would come with the territory?