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March 17, 2010 Cat caught in leghold trap in Sparks park - Fernley man cited A cat was walking Sunday near a bike path in Cottonwood Park along the Truckee River in east Sparks when he sniffed the scent of fish. Upon investigation of an opened tuna can, he felt a steel leghold trap snap on his leg. “It was pretty heinous the way [the trapper] had it set,” said Denise Stevens of Nevada Humane Society. “The animal had nowhere to go but into water.” And into the ice cold water, the cat went, still caught by the trap. How long he was there isn’t clear. A call came into Washoe County Regional Animal Services about a raccoon caught in a leghold trap, and the officer who was dispatched couldn’t find the raccoon but kept looking and found the cat in a different area of the park, said Bonney Brown of Nevada Humane Society. “As you know it has been quite cold out and the cat was soaking wet. The cat was brought to NHS [on Sunday] and examined by our veterinarian, but he was too stressed and his body temperature was too low to tranquilize him yesterday and give him a full examination then,” Brown said. “Sadly, the report of the raccoon makes one wonder if there is some poor raccoon out there dragging a trap on a wounded leg. Sometimes the animals succeed in getting the trap loose from its tether.” Stevens said the cat, who had no microchip or missing-pet reports, is doing better now and will not lose his leg. Putting exposed bait within 30 feet of a trap is illegal in Nevada. The Nevada Department of Wildlife went out to examine the area, and a skunk was found caught in a nearby trap and a third trap, unsprung, was also discovered. The skunk was shot in the head with a .22 rifle and left in the trap to lure the trapper, Chris Healy of NDOW said. The third trap was sprung. After about 20 hours of surveillance time by NDOW game wardens, at 8:40 Tuesday night, someone approached the traps. It was Christopher Iveson, 29 of Fernley, “a rookie trapper who was remorseful when told of his errant ways,” Healy said. Game warden Mike McCusker gave him two citations, one for setting a leghold trap within 30 feet of exposed bait and one for setting a leghold trap within 200 feet of a roadway (Spice Island Drive), Healy said. The two will cost him $590 in fines and court costs. McCusker said Iveson was trying to catch raccoon and mink, for whom the trapping season continues through month’s end. Some may be surprised to know that it’s legal to put the steel traps in public areas of the city and private areas with permission. In addition to not being within 200 feet of a roadway, the main restriction is the trapper’s own common sense. Healy said, “It seems pretty dangerous to have such traps not far from the river path, for people walking pets or who have children playing.” Trish Swain of Sparks leads a group named TrailSafe, which campaigns to make trail areas safe for humans and pets by supporting efforts to limit trapping. She said, “This just points out the urgent need for regulation of trapping. It becomes obvious that traps are set right near population centers and that pets can be caught. And my fear is that one of these days it will be a child.” Joel Blakeslee, president of the Nevada Trappers Association, said that a child has never been caught in a leghold trap and he cautions against making more out of this than it being an isolated incident involving an inexperienced trapper. “The majority of the incidences with a canine or a feline [being trapped] could've been avoided because of that bait law,” he said. “In other words, if that trap would’ve been legally set, then there likely wouldn’t have been anything to talk about. There are laws already in place to prevent this type of incident from happening.” Setting traps in Sparks — including in city parks — is legal, as long as they’re not within 200 feet of a street. But that doesn’t mean they’d be welcomed. Rick Darby, senior parks development supervisor for the City of Sparks, said, “If someone called me and asked [if they could set a leghold trap], I would say no because it’s unsafe.” Stan Sherer, director of Sparks’ parks and recreation department, “I wouldn’t endorse the inhumane treatment of any animal and I would look at a leghold trap as inhumane, that’s just my personal opinion. I wouldn’t want my dog to get caught in a trap.” Bobby Smith, field supervisor of Washoe County Regional Animal Services, said that animal control has been looking into expanding its role in enforcement of traps for a while now. “We’re looking at limiting traps in animal-congested areas,” he said. “We’re trying desperately to get this in place.” When asked how often pets get caught in such traps, NDOW’s McCusker said, “Very often.” Swain said, “I think there is absolutely no place for trapping in a city or population center.” Blakeslee from the trappers association said that very little trapping occurs in populated areas. “We don’t have an official stance on [trap limits within city areas],” he said. “But how often does something like this happen? This is the first time this has happened in a long time since I’ve been doing it. It’s not like this is an everyday occurrence.” What do you think? Please comment below whether you think there should be further limits on leghold traps, specifically in city areas? If so, why? If not, why?
STORY NOTES Here are some answers to questions people may have based upon the above story. • Traps used to have to be identified regarding whom they belong to, but the Nevada Legislature, at the behest of a trapper, changed the law so that trap IDs are voluntary. In this case, an ID may have helped so what's the thinking behind not having identifying marks on traps? “What would stop you from buying a trap and putting my ID on it and then doing something that’s illegal to set me up?” said Joel Blakeslee, president of the Nevada Trappers Association. • If someone’s pet or child were to get caught in a leghold trap — and the trap was set legally — there are no criminal consequences. The course of action available is civil. • Traps are required to be checked at least every 96 hours. • You can read the Nevada law regarding traps here. • Someone commented on destroying traps. I asked game warden Mike McCusker about the penalties for doing this (or disabling them) and whether the penalties applied to illegally set traps. Here's his response: "This applies to only lawfully/legally set traps but it carries a bail of $100 and $87 court cost. It also carries 6 demerits which only counts in our system for possible revocation of hunting/fishing/trapping privileges if a person accumulates 12 demerits in a 5 year period. Granted, most that would partake and disturb/remove the traps intentionally are not typically involved in hunting/fishing/trapping anyway so the demerits rarely mean anything to them. I would caution people though, if they are out seeking traps and trappers to disturb/remove, we will pursue charges in those cases. We rarely if ever have pursued charges in cases where a person’s dog/pet gets caught incidentally and the trap is removed/taken even when it is a legally set trap. However, the law is still being broken. We often will have these turned in to us and if we can find the trapper, we will inform them of the incident, return the trap and typically they do not want to pursue charges which would most likely be dismissed in a court of law anyway. We hope the public would call us to report the finding of traps so we can personally go out and see if any laws have been violated. We certainly discourage anyone from taking the law into their own hands or acting in haste in these circumstances. It is best to leave the trap as found and notify the proper authorities….us." [See the phone number below.] • If you find an animal caught in a trap, you can call animal control at 322-3647 and NDOW at 688-1500. • TrailSafe compiles a list of “trap incidents” and asks anyone who has had a bad encounter with a leghold trap to email details. You can view its list here. • Blakeslee said that his group is happy to give the errant trapper help and conducts seminars each summer. More can be learned at the association’s site here. Caption info: The photos were taken by Nevada Humane Society. The really dirty photo of the cat was taken Sunday, just out of the trap on the river's edge. The cleaner one was taken later after he'd had time to calm down. In the photo showing the trap in the water, note the placement of the can of tuna. The skunk was found Monday caught in a trap near the one that caught the cat.
Comments (30) Personal, true stories involving traps - pro or con - are encouraged. And do you think there should be further limits on leghold traps, specifically in city areas? If so, why? If not, why? code13 wrote: MarisLeed wrote: jfsgf wrote: rgj_noob wrote: lisamcb1 wrote: fastfreddy57 wrote: fastfreddy57 wrote: Shoko wrote: Although there might not be a case of a child being hurt by one of these leg traps, it's just a matter of time before some kid goes exploring, as they often do, off the beaten path and becomes a victim. Don't wait til this happens before you realize that changes are in order. MarkRobison wrote: Someone commented on destroying traps. I asked game warden Mike McCusker about the penalties for doing this (or disabling them) and whether the penalties applied to illegally set traps. Here's his response: "This applies to only lawfully/legally set traps but it carries a bail of $100 and $87 court cost. It also carries 6 demerits which only counts in our system for possible revocation of hunting/fishing/trapping privileges if a person accumulates 12 demerits in a 5 year period. Granted, most that would partake and disturb/remove the traps intentionally are not typically involved in hunting/fishing/trapping anyway so the demerits rarely mean anything to them. I would caution people though, if they are out seeking traps and trappers to disturb/remove, we will pursue charges in those cases. We rarely if ever have pursued charges in cases where a person’s dog/pet gets caught incidentally and the trap is removed/taken even when it is a legally set trap. However, the law is still being broken. We often will have these turned in to us and if we can find the trapper, we will inform them of the incident, return the trap and typically they do not want to pursue charges which would most likely be dismissed in a court of law anyway. We hope the public would call us to report the finding of traps so we can personally go out and see if any laws have been violated. We certainly discourage anyone from taking the law into their own hands or acting in haste in these circumstances. It is best to leave the trap as found and notify the proper authorities….us." Conservative2010 wrote: MarkRobison wrote: BookWrm wrote: Leg hold traps are evil, cruel and archaic. 1flyfisher wrote: GonnaGoThere wrote: 3/17/2010 5:24 PM PDT on rgj.com homemeansnevada wrote: skotia71 wrote: MarkRobison wrote: cockerspanielgal wrote: kavrno wrote: gelah07 wrote: 3/18/2010 8:39 AM PDT on rgj.com fastfreddy57 wrote: RB210 wrote: MarkRobison wrote: SebaaHeidi wrote: Lissi wrote: bacardigyrl wrote: Being the caretaker of the feral cats at Cottonwood, I was sick to realize that someone would be ignorant enough to set traps in this area. Not only for the safety of my cats, but there are beavers, ferrets, raccoons, minks and obviously skunks. I was sick when I found the skunk! Hanging there suffering for who knows how long! To see this killed me. An innocent skunk, just enjoying his life by the river, only to have to be killed because of human ignorance. The cat is a whole other story! The trapper better hope I never see him. Bohemian1 wrote: MarkRobison wrote: Dear NDOW, Joel Blakeslee and other trappers say these incidents are rare. They are not rare. What is rare is that all the affected people get together to compare notes and then take action! Joel and other trappers depend on the fact that pets caught in traps are isolated incidents and that the people and animals who have been affected have no other outlet than NDOW. These people, like me, do not organize and protest. There is a great deal of anger that so little is being done to regulate cruel leghold traps- people do not know the procedure to protest! SIGNS: Signs MUST be posted in areas where trapping occurs so that people KNOW that trapping is in progress and to be careful. Most people have no idea when or where trapping occurs. TRAILS: Trapping should be illegal within a mile from ANY recognized trail. ID: All traps must carry an ID. ELAPSED TIME: Every trap must be visited by the trapper at least every 24 hours. COMMUNITIES: No trapping should be allowed near populated communities. CONFISCATION: Next time I find a leghold trap, you can bet that I will NOT turn it into NDOW- I will destroy it and look for more. These traps are a time bomb- it's not just coyotes and bobcat that get trapped and killed- it is beloved pets and someday it will be a small child. PLEASE listen to people whose lives have been affected by these inhumane traps. Thank you, 3/23/2010 10:29 AM PDT on rgj.com yoyotango wrote: What'll be kid? (I'm quite certain all his 'colleages' have pumped him up as to his 'rights'.) I'd Like to Know How HE Would Feel If His Dog Got The 'Treatment'. How much is that dog-pelt in the window?
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