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Derelict lobster traps, gear collected from New Hampshire beach

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Derelict lobster traps, gear collected from New Hampshire beach

The cleanup event was held Sunday in Rye Harbor and the Hampton Harbor State Marina.BY ASSOCIATED PRESSShare

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RYE, N.H. — Members of New Hampshire’s commercial fishing community joined volunteers to collect lobster traps and other gear that have been washed ashore by winter storms.

The 27th annual cleanup event was held Sunday in Rye Harbor and the Hampton Harbor State Marina. Last year, more than 60 commercial harvesters helped to clean up six tons of traps and fishing gear.

The event is a partnership among the New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the New Hampshire Division of Ports and Harbors, the Hampton Public Works Department and North Atlantic Services.

Man-eating croc found dead in trap in Kelabakan

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KOTA KINABALU: A 4m-long crocodile, believed to be responsible for the death of several people in Kalabakan, has been found dead on Saturday (July 18).

The reptile is believed to have died after taking the bait set up by wildlife officials following several deaths from crocodile attacks in the area.

Tawau Wildlife Department officer Sailun Aris said they set up the trap at the Kg Tanjung Sapi River on July 15 and found the crocodile trapped at about 1.30pm on Saturday.

“We believe this was the crocodile that attacked Sukrien Jesman Yusoff at the Kalabakan river on July 3 and Nur Hayati Talib, 50, on June 25, to name a few,” he said.

He said the trap at Kg Tanjung Sapi was one of several they set between July 5 and 15.

Sailun said families of crocodile attack victims were notified of the discovery, and they requested that the reptile be cut open.

“There were human hands (in its stomach), and they have been returned to the identified family. They will bury the remains,” he said.

The crocodile, which weighs 350kg, has been buried close to the area where it was caught.

Coyote Pup Illegally Trapped & Fatally Maimed in Cruel Leghold Trap

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Project Coyote
 For Immediate Release: July 16, 2020Contact:   Randi Feilich, Project Coyote Southern Cal. Rep. (310) 498-2975, rfeilich@projectcoyote.org
Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Executive Director 
Incident Under Criminal Investigation ~ Wildlife Protection Organizations Call for Justice
 VALLEY VILLAGE, CA—California-based Project Coyote has released a video depicting a coyote pup captured in an illegally set leghold trap in the upscale neighborhood of Valley Village (adjacent to North Hollywood), and law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the incident for possible criminal violations.The video shows—in graphic detail—the coyote pup struggling in the trap, desperate to free itself, with no cover in the searing summer heat on the Fourth of July weekend when illegal fireworks and firecrackers no doubt terrorized the trapped pup further. According to neighbors, the pup likely suffered in the trap for days before local residents heard him crying. The animal’s injuries were so severe that he had to be euthanized by LA Animal Services.The coyote was trapped through a GoFundMe campaign organized by Valley Village resident Lisa Johnson Mandell who solicited money from neighbors for “humane wildlife removal.”  “This was a reprehensible act of animal cruelty to a young coyote pup, separated from his mother, dying in a slow painful death,” said Project Coyote Southern California Representative Randi Feilich, and added, “Neighbors are shocked to learn that donations were used to hire a trapper to set cruel, indiscriminate and illegal leghold traps.” The GoFundMe page has since been deleted.The trapper is believed to have violated multiple state laws and is now under investigation by Los Angeles Animal Cruelty Task Force and the California Department of Wildlife. “Leghold traps were banned by California voters in 1998 so this trap set is clearly in violation of that law,” said Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Founder and Executive Director. “Moreover, California law requires that trappers check their traps daily and obtain written permission from property owners when setting traps less than 150 yards from a residence, which this trapper clearly failed to do.””Despite a state law banning leghold traps, many private trappers and ‘pest’ control businesses continue to use them in clear violation of the law,” said Fox. “Until these trappers receive more than a slap on the wrist, they will continue to flagrantly violate the law. We must crackdown on this unconscionable cruelty so another animal does not suffer such a painful and needless death.”Watch the video of the captured coyote here.Warning: Graphic ContentProject Coyote’s Coyote Friendly Communities program offers humane and proactive educational resources, tools and expertise to help communities peacefully and safely coexist with coyotes and other wild neighbors. Learn more here.

Turtle volunteers gather derelict crab traps

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Coastal Wildlife Club volunteer Gene McCoy loads a derelict crab trap into the truck of his car. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission authorized the CWC to remove abandoned crab traps from Manasota Key during the sea turtle nesting season.

PROVIDED BY COASTAL WILDLIFE CLUB

ENGLEWOOD — The Coastal Wildlife Club will assist the state with gathering derelict crab traps.

The Florida Fish and Game Conservation Commission has authorized CWC turtle patrol volunteers to gather and remove crab traps that wash up onto Manasota Key during the sea turtle nesting season, which started May 1 and extends to Oct. 31.

“Traps and lines may obstruct the progress of nesting turtles and even entangle them,” the CWC stated in a press release Monday. Anyone who discovers a derelict trap on Manasota Key is asked to email the CWC at info@coastalwildlifeclub.org.

Since April 30, the CWC recovered and removed three blue crab traps and seven stone crab traps, two in the Sarasota County portion of Manasota Key and eight on the Charlotte side of the barrier island.

Details of the derelict crab trap programs and clean-ups can be found online at myfwc.com.

The FWC estimates 800,000 blue crab traps are permitted annually. The state estimates 30% to 50% of blue crab traps are lost to their owners.

The traps are valuable to the commercial crabbers.

“We don’t want to lose traps,” said Kelly Beall who with her husband, Jimmy, own and operate Peace River Seafood restaurant, seafood and fresh vegetable market on Duncan Road in Punta Gorda. Jimmy also is a commercial crabber with hundreds of traps set in Charlotte Harbor and the Peace River.

Often, Beall suggested, boaters will run over a commercial trap’s lines, separating the traps from their buoys.

A decade ago, Charlotte County Sea Grant agent Capt. Betty Staugler assisted the state in drafting its volunteer derelict trap clean-up procedures. Like Beall, Staugler suggested traps are valuable to commercial crabbers, especially since they use steel rebar to weigh their traps down.

Generally, Staugler said, commercial crabbers have a “good handle” of where their traps are located since they check them regularly, several times a week, whereas recreational crabbers may only check their traps once a week, twice a week or even longer.

The state has a rotating, two-year regional schedule for 10-day crab trap closures throughout the state. During that time, the FWC requires all commercial and recreational traps to be removed from the water. Abandoned and derelict traps are then pulled out.

“Traps may remain in the water during a closed season for many reasons,” the FWC states on its website. “They can move during storms, making them difficult to locate; they may be snagged by passing vessels and dragged to another area; or they may be illegally abandoned by their owners.”

But as much as wanting to clear abandoned and derelict traps from waterways, the FWC protects crabbers and their traps and their livelihoods.

Unauthorized tampering with crab traps, their lines and buoys, or trap contents can result in a third-degree felony charge, fines up to $5,000 and a permanent revocation of fishing licenses.

Born Free USA Applauds Reintroduction of Bill Banning Dangerous Traps on National Wildlife Refuges

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Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act reappears in U.S. House of Representatives, is backed by leading animal protection organization

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/born-free-usa-applauds-reintroduction-201300055.html

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Born Free USA, an internationally recognized leader in animal protection and wildlife conservation, announced today its strong support of the recent reintroduction of the Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill, championed by Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, would prohibit the use or possession of all body-gripping traps within the 150 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System. These traps include steel-jaw leghold traps, Conibear traps, and strangulation neck snares.

“By their very design, body-gripping traps are cruel, dangerous and indiscriminate,” said Angela Grimes, CEO of Born Free USA. “Their brutality cannot be overstated. As our two undercover investigations have shown, traps inflict severe stress, pain and suffering for any animal who steps into them—including endangered species and beloved pets. Born Free USA applauds Chairwoman Lowey for her strong leadership to end this cruelty throughout the National Wildlife Refuge System.”

The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to be an inviolate sanctuary for our native wildlife, yet thousands of animals are trapped in these cruel devises on our refuges every year. Children and family pets are also put at risk every time they visit one of the 177 refuges that currently allows trapping.

“Body-gripping traps should have no place in our National Wildlife Refuges,” Lowey said. “The Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act would ban from public land these violent traps, which endanger wild animals as well as the millions of visitors who enjoy our nation’s 566 refuges each year. It is past time we ensure the entire National Wildlife Refuge System is safe for animals and families alike. We must restore the true meaning of ‘refuge’ to the National Wildlife Refuge System.”

Once in a trap, animals suffer in agony for hours or even days. In addition to the excruciating pain inflicted by the trap, trapped animals are also exposed to extreme stress, environmental elements, dehydration, starvation, and predation, with no chance of relief or escape.

Born Free USA urges other members of Congress to join with Congresswoman Lowey to support this important legislation.

For more information about Born Free USA, visit https://www.bornfreeusa.org.

About Born Free USA
Born Free USA works tirelessly to ensure that all wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild, are treated with compassion and respect and are able to live their lives according to their needs. As a leading wildlife charity, Born Free USA opposes the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and campaign to keep them where they belong – in the wild. The organization promotes Compassionate Conservation to enhance the survival of threatened species in the wild and protect natural habitats while respecting the needs and safeguarding the welfare of individual animals.

Woman sentenced to jail for freeing crying bear cub from trap in New Jersey

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A judge sentenced a woman to 15 days in jail for freeing a crying cub from a bear trap.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bear-trap-cub-jail-new-jersey-a8802206.html

Municipal Court Judge James Devine sentenced Catherine McCartney, 50, on Thursday, NJ.com reported. McCartney, who has a record of arrests related to bear hunt protests, pleaded guilty to obstructing “the administration of law and the prevention of the lawful taking of wildlife”.

McCartney, a dedicated animal rights activist, plans to appeal the sentence, relating to the incident in in Vernon, New Jersey.

In a statement she read in court, McCartney said she did not regret her decision in rescuing the bear cub from the painful trap.

“These animals are innocent and so I made the moral decision to let the bear go so he could run back to his mother, and it was the right thing to do,” she said.

The incident in question took place in October in a condominium complex. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said it installed two culvert traps inside the complex campus to capture a bear—known as “Momma Bear” by activists—following two incidents with residents. None of these incidents resulted in injury.

Mark Nagelhout, who helped McCartney free the cub, also plead guilty to the same charges. However, he did not receive a jail sentence since this was his first offence.

Both defendants were also fined $1,316.
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New permit means open season for hunting many furry predators

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You can soon hunt raccoons, coyotes, and other furry predators on your private land to help protect bird populations.
Author: Rolly Hoyt
Published: 6:32 PM CDT July 26, 2019
Updated: 6:32 PM CDT July 26, 2019

It will soon be critter season all year long in Arkansas. It may be the worst news in a while for coyotes since the Acme Roadrunner trap arrived in the mail.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission voted to relax hunting regulations on certain predator species.

RELATED: UCAPD help save raccoon hilariously stuck in drain grate

“Raccoons, possums, red fox, coyotes — things like that,” said Randy Zellers, the assistant chief of communications for the AGFC. “What it is going to do is give a private landowner to manage on a local level if he feels that predator populations are high and maybe impacting his ground nesting birds in the area.”

Coyotes and possums like quick meals they can get from a quail’s nest. To manage that, you can now set traps or hunt them with a special permit. There doesn’t have to be a set season, and more importantly, no set hours.

“You will be able to harvest bobcat, coyote, skunk, possum, and raccoon day or night,” Zellers said after getting a free predator-control permit. That lets hunters get them when they are out and active.

Officials are not declaring a critter crisis, but the rules needed updating because the days of every kid running around with a Davy Crockett hat are long gone.

“Years ago, people used to trap animals for pelts,” Zellers said. “As that has gone out of style, there’s not as much money involved in trapping animals for pelts.”

Rules are already in place that allow you to shoot predators if they threaten people, pets, or livestock. This new permit means you can do it more efficiently with an eye on wildlife management.

A hunter is also not responsible for having to turn the skin into a coat or a hat if they have the special permit.

Zellers points out that the permit is mainly for people living in the country.

While coyotes and foxes often encroach on suburban or even residential areas in cities, local firearms laws still supersede the special permit regulations.

RELATED: Dad, teens face-off against growling coyote

If you have a raccoon or skunk problem closer to town, the AGFC has standard advice.

“We still recommend the number one thing is remove all the food sources and make sure those animals are not welcome,” Zellers said.

The permits will be available in late August.

PETA’s Secret Weapon In Fur Ban Fight: A Coyote Trap

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The animal-rights group is showing lawmakers how brutal the traps are as the City Council considers a ban on fur sales.

By Noah Manskar, Patch Staff |  | 
https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/petas-secret-weapon-fur-ban-fight-coyote-trap
NEW YORK — Hooded faces ringed with fur seem to cross every New York City block in the winter months as Canada Goose parkas have grown popular. But the high-end outerwear’s trim comes from coyotes, which often find themselves caught in small but powerful metal traps, animal rights activists say.

As the City Council considers banning fur sales, Dan Mathews, a senior vice president at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has been snapping pencils with one of those traps to show lawmakers just how brutal the fur trade is.

“Some of the shards of the pencil fly eight feet across the room and they imagine that being an animal’s bone — it puts a visceral face on a talking point,” said Mathews, who has met over the last several weeks with half a dozen Council members, including Speaker Corey Johnson.

The trap is a powerful visual aid in PETA’s quest to make New York the nation’s largest city to ban fur sales, according to Mathews, who is also demonstrating it for fashion designers and model agencies ahead of a May 15 hearing on the Council bill.

PETA is training its activists to show the traps off more widely and producing a video featuring the designer Stella McCartney to educate consumers about them, Mathews said.

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“People have commented that it looks like something out of a medieval torture museum,” Mathews said. “And I think when people realize that there are thousands of these in use today capturing animals — not just coyotes but all sorts of wildlife and family dogs — it becomes a very simple issue.”

The so-called leghold trap Mathews demonstrated for Patch on Thursday snapped in the blink of an eye. Food is used to lure coyotes to the devices, which go for as little as $10 online. But they inadvertently capture other creatures such as dogs, cats, songbirds and owls — which trappers call “trash animals,” Mathews said.

New York State is home to about 10,000 trappers. Leghold traps are used throughout the state, including just north of the city in Westchester County, Mathews said.

State law bans leg-gripping traps with teeth and requires trappers in most parts of the state to visit their traps every 24 hours. But such rules are hard to enforce, as only the trappers generally know where the traps are set, Mathews said.

Mathews expects a tough fight over the proposed fur ban despite Johnson’s support for it. The bill would bar retailers from selling fur apparel and fine those who get caught.

Johnson has argued the measure would help protect animals. But longtime Manhattan furrier Jerry Sorbara, whose store is on West 32nd Street, says it could put him out of business.

“It’s gonna escalate to that you cannot even walk in the street and they come and see what kind of shoes you (are) wearing, and they will kill you if you wear something that is not right,” said Sorbara, 80, who opened his custom fur business in 1975. “I think it’s really insane what they’re doing.”

While Johnson’s bill would let merchants sell used fur items, Sorbara said only “a handful” of people sell used fur coats. The ban could also hurt parts of the fashion industry that make other components of fur garments such as buttons and linings, he said.

Sorbara said he uses furs from farm-raised minks, chinchillas and sables — not trapped animals. He’s even made a miniature mink coat for a customer’s dog.

“You mean to say … that we don’t love animals? Are you kidding me?” Sorbara said.

Lakeway woman once praised for freeing several trapped deer in viral video now facing charges

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In the video, which was taken on March 8, you can see deer stuck under the net, with some of them bleating as they try to move around. Months later, Texas Parks and Wildlife has charged the woman who shot the video with criminal mischief and harassment after she freed two of the deer.
Author: Pattrik Perez
Published: 10:39 PM CDT June 5, 2018
Updated: 9:21 AM CDT June 6, 2018

LAKEWAY, Texas — A Lakeway woman is facing criminal mischief and harassment charges, months after her cell phone video of deer stuck in a trap set by workers the city of Lakeway hired to control overpopulation went viral.

RELATED | Viral video of Lakeway deer control program reignites outrage

In the video, which was taken on March 8, you can see deer stuck under the net, with some of them bleating as they try to move around.

Ashlea Beck, a Lakeway resident, shot the video after her children discovered the trap near her home.

WARNING: The following video may be graphic to some viewers:

At one point in the video, you can hear her ask the workers, “Why are you doing this?”

Angry with what she saw, Beck cut part of the net and released two deer.

“I think they should do it away from kids, away from families,” Beck told KVUE in an interview on March 14.

Months later, Texas Parks and Wildlife has charged Beck with criminal mischief and harassment. A TPWD spokesperson sent KVUE the following statement:

“Ms. Beck interfered with lawful efforts to trap and remove white-tailed deer, causing damage to private property in the process. It is a violation of the Sportsman’s Rights Act to intentionally interfere with another person lawfully engaged in the process of hunting or catching wildlife, or intentionally harass, drive, or disturb any wildlife for the purpose of disrupting lawful hunting.”

Citizen Advocates for Animals of Lakeway president Rita Cross told KVUE she thinks Beck’s punishment is too harsh.

“She was in shock, she was trying to protect her kids and the deer, and she released two of them when she cut the net,” Cross said.

Cross thought TPWD would give Beck a warning or a fine.

“But they didn’t. They teamed up with the city of Lakeway, and they teamed up with the trapper himself, and they all agreed that she should be charged,” Cross said.

Neither Beck nor her attorney wanted to speak to KVUE about the charges. But in a post on a GoFundMe page Cross made to help pay for Beck’s attorney’s fees, Beck wrote the following comment:

“I was shocked and extremely disappointed by how Texas Parks & Wildlife and the City of Lakeway have handled this whole situation. My hope is that something good will come out of this, that changes will be made that prevent this from happening to someone else. Our city should be a safe place for families and animals alike.”

Cross just wants what she calls animal cruelty out of the city of Lakeway.

“Not just hiding them in some quiet, out-of-the-way location, but that we don’t deserve it in this city,” she said. “The deer don’t deserve the treatment that they get.”

Beck is facing two class B misdemeanor charges. Each carries 180 days in jail or a $2,000 fine.

City of Lakeway officials told KVUE in March they were done trapping deer for the rest of 2018.

Protected birds injured by ‘barbaric trapping’

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Protected birds injured by ‘barbaric trapping’

Police are investigating after the body of a buzzard was found in woodland with one of its legs severed and a hobby was found alive with one leg severed.

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Buzzard

The police share this latest appeal. Ed

Officers from the Isle of Wight’s Country Watch team are investigating two incidents where protected birds have been injured, possibly by traps.

We are working with the RSPB to establish what happened after the birds were found in the Briddlesford area, both with severed legs.

On 14th March the body of a buzzard was found in woodland near to Littletown with one of its legs severed.

On 23rd September a hobby was found alive with one leg severed. This bird was taken to the RSPCA and humanely put down.

Illegal and barbaric method of trapping
PC Tim Campany from the Country Watch team said:

“We are working closely with our colleagues from the RSPB to establish what happened. One line of enquiry is that the birds may have been caught and held in a spring-type trap.

“This is illegal and is a barbaric method of trapping, it leaves the bird once freed from the trap unable to land and feed and it will eventually die of starvation.

“All wild birds are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to intentionally harm them. Anyone found to have done so faces an unlimited fine and/or up to six months in jail.

“Raptor persecution is a priority of the National Wildlife Crime Unit and will not be tolerated. I would urge anyone with information on suspicious vehicles, persons, or traps located in the Briddlesford area to call us on 101.”

Get in touch
Anyone with information should call 101 quoting 4418 0374 840.

For more information about the Country Watch team please visit the Website.

Image: rorals under CC BY 2.0

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