OPINION: Keep pets safe during trapping season, Oct. 23 - March 31
Oct. 22, 2021 | By Brenna GaldenziSTOWE – Trapping season starts on the fourth Saturday of October each year in Vermont and runs through March 31. Each trapping season, dogs, cats, and other non-targeted animals, including protected species, are injured or killed in traps. According to public records obtained by Protect Our Wildlife, a dog was trapped in a leghold trap set for coyotes during the first week of trapping season last year. Some of the other non-targeted captures that were voluntarily reported last year include a barred owl, a great blue heron, and a Canada goose. Vermont Fish & Wildlife does not require trappers to report when they trap a non-targeted wild animal.
Traps may be set on private land — with permission — and public land, including National Wildlife Refuges, home to federally protected species including Canada lynx.
Trappers are not required to post signs as to where they’re trapping, nor are they required to set their traps away from public hiking trails. Baits and lures are used with traps, so a trap set for a coyote can just as likely trap a curious dog or cat or even a bald eagle.
The two trap types that pose the greatest risk to dogs and cats are leghold and Conibear-brand “kill” traps.
"I am a veterinarian who has treated dogs and cats caught in traps and the injuries they suffered were horrendous," said Dr. Peggy Larson, retired Vermont veterinarian. Protect Our Wildlife’s website offers a video tutorial with instructions on how to release a companion animal from a leghold and Conibear trap.
If an animal is caught in a Conibear trap, its survival is less likely. These traps are designed to kill animals like fisher, beavers, and otters by crushing the neck with 90 pounds of pressure per square inch.
Protect Our Wildlife has documentation of non-targeted animals caught in Conibear traps including turtles, dogs, cats, and coyotes. Photos depict the traps crushing the animals' heads and torsos, indicating tremendous suffering. It's hard to believe that these gruesome instruments of torture are still being used in Vermont, despite the fact that the majority of Vermonters polled in 2017 by the University of Vermont's Center for Rural Studies, want to ban trapping completely.
Photos courtesy Protect Our Wildlife
Some tips
Know when trapping season is, but remember that traps set out of season, as allowed per Vermont’s “wild animals doing damage” statute, or traps left behind after the season ends, still present a threat.
Remember that kill traps can be set in shallow water, in rivers and streams so always check the area before allowing your dog to swim.
Keep cats indoors or create a cat-proof fenced-in yard.
Tips on how to get an animal out of a leghold trap are online at protectourwildlife.org.
"While we cannot protect bobcats, foxes, otters, and other wildlife from leghold and body crushing kill traps, we can try and protect our pets," Dr. Larson said.
Visit protectourwildlifevt.org to learn more about trapping in Vermont and how to support efforts to ban it.
Brenna Galdenzi is president of Protect Our Wildlife, a nonprofit wildlife advocacy organization.