This commentary is by Brenna Galdenzi of Stowe, president of Protect Our Wildlife.
The recreational trapping season in Vermont started on Oct. 22 and runs through March 31. This includes the use of baited steel-jawed leghold and body-gripping kill traps, as well as cage traps that are set underwater that drown multiple animals at once.
Traps inflict tremendous fear and suffering upon the trapped animals who are, all too often, not even killed humanely. Drowning, bludgeoning and strangling are all legal methods of killing trapped animals in Vermont. Not surprisingly, Vermont trappers have fought recent efforts to restrict the method of kill to gunshot only.
Traps not only injure, but also maim and kill their intended victims; untold numbers of non-targeted animals like owls, eagles and even turtles are caught every year. They are cavalierly referred to by trappers and Vermont Fish & Wildlife as “incidental takes.”
Moreover, Vermont Fish & Wildlife does not even require trappers to report these kills. It’s certainly a public relations disaster for the agency to have to disclose these kills, so it’s in their best interest to keep it out of sight.
But that is not in the best interest of transparency. Wildlife is a public trust resource, yet wildlife is too often “managed” for the benefit of privileged special interests.
Thanks to public records requests that Protect Our Wildlife submits, we know about some of these incidental takes that were investigated by law enforcement. One such record documented a black bear who had been caught by the face in a body-gripping kill trap that was likely set for a bobcat. The poor bear was probably hungry, and when the desperate animal went to investigate the trap, it paid with its life.
While we can’t protect bobcats, otters and other wildlife from traps, we can protect our pets. Trapping occurs on private lands (landowner permission is required), public lands including state parks, and even national wildlife refuges in Vermont with no warning or signage. Trappers are not even required to set their traps off of trails. A dog was trapped on Christmas Day last year in a body-gripping kill trap set on a public trail in Bristol.
Kill traps that are set in shallow water present a danger to dogs right through March 31. Cats that are allowed outdoors are at greatest risk, since a baited trap set for a coyote or other wild animal will just as easily trap a cat.
Trapping is considered a recreational activity for about 900 licensed trappers who cite “tradition” as a reason why they trap.We should be protecting predator species, not killing them for “recreation” or to sell their fur to China.
