TrailSafe: For Humane Trails. Keeping Nevada trails and recreation safe from steel jaw leghold traps.

Sample Support Letters
Some Names and Addresses are not posted to protect supporters'privacy

To Whom it May Concern,

Good day. My name is Deb Drum and my address and phone number are at the end of this message. [not posted]

The year is 2011 and I have to wonder what year the first steel jaw trap was invented, used and for what purpose. My guess is that purpose long ago became outdated and irrelevant.

And still these traps are used by anyone for any reason in almost any location without any kind of application process in place. In this time of extreme budget cutting, I would think at a minimum an application fee should be implemented, along with a rental charge and hefty deposit.

It horrifies me my suburban neighbor can place a lethal trap in their back yard. Their tiny .12 acre back yard. There is at least one cat who wanders this neighborhood, no one knows where he came from but one household is making sure he is fed, and they report to me he has no interest in being a house cat. The "hood" is his home, and he bothers no one.

It is just plain horrific this "method" still exists in the first place when there are other just as effective methods available, most notably the "box" trap. This is a no-brainer and it is mind bending why we are still having this discussion.

If there are that many of my fellow human beings out there who get their rocks off by placing these cruel devices near public areas, are actually lobbying for their "right" to do so, and in such large numbers to have this amount of influence, then our problems as a society are even worse than I thought.

I can only hope these nearly deranged individuals are not raising children to follow their example.

Think of all the citizens, led by Trish Swain, who are taking the time to push for these changes in trapping laws. Couldn't our efforts be better used volunteering in classrooms, senior centers, beautification efforts, the food bank, and animal shelters, etc?

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

November, 2011

I wanted to let you know that I believe it's important to have traps marked with the owners name and that they should be responsible for any injuries that happen from domestic animals caught in traps. I had a rude awakening when my dog was caught in a trap that was less then one foot off the donkey trails that we were riding our horses on. The trapper in this case had been using a quad to set his traps, in a conservation area behind our homes, and while it wasn't illegal for him to trap, there's no off road vehicles allowed in the area, and he was using the quad to go into areas that would have been otherwise been hard to access on foot. We were lucky as none of the injuries were permanent and she has recovered fully. My neighbors were not so lucky, as their dog received injuries that cost them over $800, when she was hiking less than 1/2 mile from our homes. Also it's my understanding that the traps only have to be checked every 92 [actually it is 96]hours, which is too long for any animal that happens to get caught in them, not to mention what happens to anyone who happens to wander to close to an injured animal caught in their traps. If the trappers want to continue to trap in areas where there are homes and people with dogs then they should have to pay for the veterinary expenses for the animals that get caught in them. I thought that when I moved to an area that was considered a conservation area, that trapping would never be an issue, and I now have to worry about taking my horses and dogs out for a ride for fear that it will happen again. There certainly needs to be tighter regulations on trapping, I agree that traps should have to be 1000 yards from any residence or trail for that matter, and that trapping permits should be harder to obtain. Thank you for your consideration, Leslie Hanson

November, 2011

The steel-jawed leg-hold trap was invented in 1823 & the design has not changed. This was the same era that doctors used saws in their surgery to cut off people's damaged limbs. Thankfully, we have progressed beyond that but unfortunately, the steel-jawed trap remains. This is now the 21st century & Nevada is STILL stuck in some 19th century thinking. Currently eight states have outlawed the use of these cruel & inhumane traps, in addition to many other cities and counties in the US. Also, 88 countries around the word have outlawed these traps. These traps should be prohibited in the entire Firearms Congested Areas of Washoe County. An identification should absolutely be required on all traps so if someone does set a trap in a prohibited area, he can be traced and face the penalty. Also, the person should be liable for any damages caused by his trap. Many dogs and cats have been caught in these traps and the pet owner then must pay for all the veterinarian bills for the pet. The trapper should be required to pay these bills. Like hunting which requires fees, so should trapping pay a fee and the traps should be checked every 24 hours. The public wants trapping banned in congested areas. Nevada needs to regulate trapping and keep it out of our ENTIRE Firearms Congested Areas. This makes total sense and this is what the public wants and the majority should be heard. Thank you.

November, 2011

Dear Members of the Wildlife Commission,

Thank you for allowing me to voice my opinion today because I teach children full-time and cannot attend this meeting.
Nevada used to be full of pioneer communities. Almost any kind of behavior and any kind of making a buck was just fine.
Nevada is not that kind of state anymore. Nevada is now plumb full of folks who think trapping wild animals should be a regulated privilege, not a right, with specialized licenses, just like a driver's license. There are lots of folks like me who believe that leg-hold traps are barbaric, not meant for civilized society. There are also plenty of folks who think that any kind of cruelty to animals should be punished to the full entent of the law.
All traps must carry identification - that regulation slipped under the radar some years ago, but it must be reinstated. Traps should be visited every 24 hours. Trapping on private property should not be exempt.
We know that this legislation does not include the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, but we have had many of our resident (including my own) and visitor (we have 2 million visitors a year) pets trapped and seriously injured. The trapper should be liable for those damages. Trapping season should be clearly marked for all resident and visitors to see- most people have no clue that trapping is even legal anymore. This includes County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who mentioned to me last spring that she had no idea that trapping was legal.
I urge you to have small round-table discussions with the various animal-rights agencies and TrailSafe to sort out the details. Trapping is injuring and killing too many of our beloved pets and other animals in a horrific, grisly and vicious death.
Trapping is NOT a right.

Thank you for allowing me to voice my opinion.
Stephanie Myers

November, 2011

Kat Simmons
To The Board Members of NDOW,

Please enter my comments into the record.

I would like to implore you to eradicate all body gripping traps. I find this method of trapping so outdated and barbaric and Nevada really needs to make and enforce ethical and humane laws regarding trapping.

I fear hiking out in the mountains for fear one of my dogs will get caught up in one. I know many people who have experienced this horrendous issue, and have their beloved pets have lost their limbs, if not their lives. How can that be legal? It is like walking out on a land mine, and we should not have to live this way. I also think these trappers need to be responsible for harm they cause. To put such damaging traps out, and then to not be held accountable, is unjust and rampant. An innocent pet, and their owners should be compensated for their expenses. If you wreck someone's car, you have to pay, if you harm a part of someone's family, you should have to at least pay for it.

I am a life long Nevadan and I lived on a ranch in Smith, Nevada. Some coyotes killed several of our sheep and my father-in-law hired a trapper to come in and trap the coyotes. Problem was, those traps killed way more than the coyotes, and I will never forget that tapper coming out to empty those traps, and talking about the other animals that stepped in them. I could not believe I was hearing those horror stories.

I cannot believe that these laws have not changed in all this time. The trappers need to check their traps at every 24 hours minimum, and if not,they should be punished. Each trap needs to have ID as well, to trace it back to its owner. If you have to have license to own a gun, trappers should be accountable for the deaths they are creating on public lands.

The horror that these animals have to endure is beyond what I can fathom, to let them suffer in them, is cruelty of the worst kind. Torturing anything is immoral and a disgrace. I would like to ask you to do the right thing here and update these regulations for the countless, voiceless creatures, that cannot speak for themselves. To lay dieing, in pain for days has nothing to do with good stewardship, and everything to do with a disgrace. Please help Nevada set a higher standard for trapping.

Thank you for your attention in this matter and it really needs attention.

Kat Simmons
Gardnerville, NV

“The time has come and gone when it is acceptable to regard this world as a resource to be exploited for the comfort of a single species. Animals with a central nervous system are too much like us to be treated as chattel.” Professor J.B. Neilands