ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Game and Fish typically only see a couple cases a year involving illegal traps, but we’re a week into the new year, and they’re already seeing it.
“Most traps are all modified in order to meet our legal requirements on our best management practices. So trappers modify the traps after purchasing them to meet all of our legal requirements to make those best humane sailings best management practices,” said New Mexico Game and Fish Chief of Wildlife Stewart Wiley.
That wasn’t the case for a Farmington woman whose cat “Mida” was injured by one of the illegal traps.
“This was a pure illegal activity. I don’t know where. We don’t know where the trap was set, because the animal was not staked at that site. So it’s hard to say why that trap was even set to begin with, or what it was set for, but it was illegal in terms of how the trap was set. It’s hard to tell, too on this trap how long it was set, if it was there from long, long time ago, 10 years ago,” said Wiley.
Back in 2021, the Legislature passed a law stating trapping is only legal on private lands. But the state game commission also sets regulations on when, where and the types of trapping that are legal on private lands.
“The laws around the types of traps and how they have to be set were based on research from the Association of Fish and Wildlife agencies on best management practices on how traffic should occur to be the most humane possible,” Wiley said.
In Mida’s case, there wasn’t anything legal about the trap she was caught in.
“From my understanding, that trap didn’t have proper staking, didn’t have proper swivels, proper chain, anything, so that was all illegal. It wasn’t marked, it was not an offset. So the jaws weren’t offset, so it doesn’t create as much pinch or damage, or not laminated. All of that. None of those aspects of the trap were legal in terms of what our requirements are,” said Wiley.
Wiley says trapping season is usually from November to March, so they know when to anticipate these cases.
Wiley says to ensure safety, make sure you keep your pets on a leash, be cautious when walking near private land, and stay calm for your pet if they are caught in that situation.
The Missouri Department of Conservation reported a total of 10,071 deer harvested during the alternative methods portion of firearms hunting season. (Photo – Christopher Olson)
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Over 10,000 deer were harvested during the alternative methods portion of firearms deer season.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reported a total of 10,071 deer were harvested between Dec. 28 and Jan. 7.
The total breakdown of the deer hunted included:
2,765 antlered bucks
1,072 button bucks
6,234 does
Franklin County brought in the most harvests with 223 deer, followed by Pike County with 209 deer and Macon County was close behind with a total harvest of 207.
This photo taken on December 15, 2024 shows hunter Zhang Tengfei looking at hunting dogs on a pickup truck before a nighttime boar hunt in Weinan, in northern China’s Shaanxi province. — AFP pic
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WEINAN, Jan 8 — In the frigid night of China’s Qinling mountains, hunters with huge social media followings scour the landscape in pursuit of wild boars menacing local farmers’ livelihoods.
China’s wild boars — today numbering two million — were a protected species from 2000 until 2023, but emerged from safeguarding last year with a hell-raising reputation for devastating crops.
Some local governments now offer boar bounties of up to 3,000 yuan (RM1,845) to hunters like Li Shangxue and his comrades, who share their exploits with 340,000 followers on Douyin — China’s version of TikTok.
Their dispatches from the hunting trail fascinate a mostly male audience but also stir crucial questions about the ideals of ecology and animal welfare versus the harsh realities of farming.
“My family and friends are farmers,” 26-year-old Li told AFP in Shaanxi province. “I’ve seen their fields trampled flat by wild boars overnight.”
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With spears, knives and over a dozen hunting dogs, Li’s crew scurry across wild terrain as he oversees the pursuit with an infrared camera affixed to a drone.
The tension of the chase is broken by the feral screeching of a 50-kilogram swine cornered by the pack of dogs, before a hunter downs it with a spear.
This photo taken on December 14, 2024 shows hunter Liu Qi cutting wild boar meat to feed hunting dogs during a nighttime wild boar hunt in Weinan, in northern China’s Shaanxi province. — AFP pic
‘Some call us cruel’
China’s recent efforts to revive forest ecosystems and the dwindling of natural predators have helped wild boars to thrive.
Experts say they have ecological value as important food sources for endangered species like Siberian Tigers, Amur Leopards and North China Leopards.
“They can adapt to different environments, so after being protected, they reproduced rapidly,” Liu Duo, senior wildlife programme officer at WWF China, told AFP.
According to Liu, better protection and compensation for property damage would help local people while ensuring sustainable habitats for wild boars to thrive naturally.
But Zhang Tengfei, leader of Li’s vigilante team who call themselves “City Hunters” — referring to their urban homes — insists “wild boars are pests”.
“Some animal rights groups call us cruel,” he said. “They don’t see how wild boars can kill people.”
Last year, the animals were involved in at least two deaths and wounded several people.
In November, a villager in northern Shaanxi province was attacked and killed. A month earlier, an engineer was hit by a train while confronting an errant hog that strayed onto a railway in eastern Nanjing city.
Zhang’s team killed around 100 wild boars last year, acts they call “public welfare farmer protection”.
The local government in their regular hunting ground does not offer a reward for killing boars, but the crew has travelled to other jurisdictions to collect payouts for their work.
Hunting with dogs is considered inhumane in many countries. Many City Hunters fans leave comments lamenting injuries to the dogs fighting boars that weigh up to 150 kilograms, with razor-sharp tusks.
But Zhang said hounds are the most efficient and safest hunting method — China’s strict gun regulations make firearms impractical and traps and snares risk injuring other animals.
This photo taken on December 14, 2024 shows hunters taking hunting dogs out for a nighttime wild boar hunt in Weinan, in northern China’s Shaanxi province. — AFP pic
Livelihoods ‘picked clean’
Wild boar became such a problem in the nearby Ningxia region that the local government put out an advert for “bounty hunters” to kill 300 adult pigs every month for 2,400 yuan each.
Outside Weinan city Shaanxi, farmer Wang Aiwa estimates the animals cost her around 15,000 yuan in 2024.
“You plant corn but… it all gets picked clean by wild boar,” Wang, 74, said. “I sometimes stay up all night in the field with a stick and pitchfork to protect my land, but it’s no use.”
Some villagers set off firecrackers or bang gongs until dawn to ward off the pigs to little effect.
Wang said she has applied for government compensation in return for lost crops but has received nothing — and sees the hunters as the only people farmers can turn to for help.
Liu Qi, another member of City Hunters, is often first on the scene of the chaotic battles between man and boar. Afterwards, he cuts open the carcass to feed the dogs — kept hungry to encourage their hunting instincts.
But the hunters can only achieve so much. “We’re burning cash,” Liu said.
The team’s drone cost them around 40,000 yuan while dogs can cost tens of thousands. When there are no bounties offered, they operate at a loss.
They hope to eventually reach one million followers on Douyin and earn money from advertising and selling hunting products.
For now, they all have day jobs. After completing the hunt, returning to base and treating any injured dogs, their work often ends long after midnight.
Once night falls again, they get ready to head out once more. They
Exposing the Big Game 