Update: Sadly, this bill did not complete the legislative process prior to adjournment.
Bill Description: If passed, this bill would require that homeowners and renters be notified if leghold traps or Conibear traps are set within 1,320 feet of their homes. The notice would need to include the location and type of trap. In addition, a sign would need to be posted by the trapper within 20 feet of the trap warning those who pass by about the trap.
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These devices are not species-selective. They are an indiscriminate killing method that sometimes catches and kills non-target animals, including family cats and dogs and even endangered or threatened species. An incident in November 2004 in Brookings illustrates the arbitrariness of these devices. A Malamute mix was caught in a conibear trap that was set in a lane near the family home. The dog was injured and luckily was not killed. But this latest incident demonstrates the inherent non-selectivity of Conibear and leghold traps.