Family dog killed in snare

Family dog’s death in baited snare prompts call for new trapping safeguards – Castanet.net

Tim Petruk – Oct 21, 2026 / 11:11 am | Story: 635160

Photo: Contributed

Berta, a five-year-old Maremma livestock guardian dog, is shown with chickens near her Williams Lake-area home. According to The Fur-Bearers, Berta was later found dead in a baited snare near the property.

A Williams Lake family is grieving after their dog was killed in a baited snare near their home, according to a B.C. wildlife protection charity.

The Fur-Bearers said Berta, a five-year-old Maremma livestock guardian dog, failed to return home earlier this month. Her family later found her dead in a snare surrounded by other baited snares.

The incident has been reported to the BC Conservation Officer Service and is under investigation, the organization said.

Berta’s owner, Victoria Savile, said the traps were set in an area she and other residents regularly use for hiking, horseback riding and hunting.

“Families should not have to discover deadly traps through tragedy,” Fur-Bearers executive director Lesley Fox said in a news release.

The group is calling for mandatory warning signs, minimum setbacks from roads and recreation areas, identification tags on traps and mandatory reporting when pets or other non-target animals are caught.

According to The Fur-Bearers, provincial proposals shared with the BC Trappers Association in September included restrictions on certain traps in parks and recreation areas, setbacks from designated roads and recreation sites and mandatory reporting of incidents involving pets. The trappers association has opposed the proposed changes.

In January, a two-year-old husky named Moon was killed in a baited trap near a public road near Radium Hot Springs in the East Kootenay.