Search Trapping Incidents Database

KANSAS CITY, MO – Owner Elisabeth took her dogs, 13-year-old Boston Terrier Oreo and 11-year-old rescue Fred, to enjoy a peaceful walk at Mission Hills’ Peetwood Park. A moment later, Oreo began to yelp in pain. As she rushed over to help Oreo, she dropped Fred’s leash. The other pup scampered off before he, too, was howling. Two steel leghold traps had clamped onto the dogs’ legs. The two dogs cried for roughly 20 minutes before city and animal control personnel arrived to release the dogs. Oreo had passed out from the pain by the time help arrived. Fred had bitten Elisabeth’s arm while she tried to free him from the trap. She rushed the dogs to the vet to receive X-rays, IVs, and pain medicine. Both were referred to a veterinary dentist, as their mouths were likely wounded from attempting to free themselves from the traps. They had also broke bones in their jaws and faces. Altogether, their medical bills cost over $20,000. Fourteen teeth were extracted from each dog. City officials said the four traps had been removed after the dogs were injured. The traps were placed in the park after residents voiced concerns about coyotes in the area. Fred and Oreo continue to recover.

UPDATE: after the incident, the city stated: “At this time, there are no current plans for trapping and the City Council asked the Crime Prevention and Safety Committee to re-review the coyote issue as well as the unfortunate trapping incident and examine potential options for moving forward.”

JUNEAU, AK – Juneau resident and her boyfriend were walking along the beach north of the Juneau Substation when her 3-year-old, 80-pound golden retriever, Nova, who was walking along the brush let out a squeal and growl and began thrashing around. They found her lying limp on the ground with her head in a Conibear trap. Thankfully, her boyfriend knew how to release the trap, and the pair worked together to release Nova. But even with her boyfriend’s knowledge, releasing Nova from the trap proved incredibly difficult. “In the state of panic, I would have lost her if it was just me — I didn’t know how to get it off,” Nova’s owner said. “I thought she was gone — we both did.” After a few minutes, the pair successfully released the trap and after attempting CPR, Nova regained consciousness. Upon resting and a visit to the vet, it appeared she only suffered bruising but no major injuries. An Alaska state trooper confirmed the trap was fresh and placed illegally near the area that typically has moderate pedestrian and pet traffic. She said the trap wasn’t staked down, which is something an experienced trapper would typically do, and the trap did not have a marker identifying who owns it. They are still trying to identify who set the trap.

BARRINGTON, IL – A young male coyote was found in a south suburban University Park with a steel trap around his leg, requiring the amputation of his right paw, during the middle of fur trapping season in Illinois. He was found on Christmas Eve. Rescuers brought the injured coyote to Flint Creek Wildlife Rescue Center, where he continues to recover. Dawn Keller, of Flint Creek, said: “No one can suggest to me that this trap, and the damage caused to this coyote, was humane in any way, shape, or form.” She also said the coyote will likely live the remainder of his life at the rescue center.

East Corinth, VT – Anne McKinsey’s dog, Clara, was just killed by a presumably illegal trap set on private land. She had been coming to the area regularly for twelve years before the incident occurred. McKinsey said that she tried to free Clara from the trap but failed to figure out how to release the mechanism in time. Clara died there in the snow. She called the local game warden the next morning. According to the game warden, the trap not being tagged, the size of the trap for the season, and its location on private property all could be violations of state trapping laws.

Boise, ID – Animal Care and Control were alerted of a raccoon living with an illegal trap locked on their paw off Eagle/Chinden roads a few weeks ago. The raccoon dragged it around until the trap became lodged in a tree after the raccoon tried to escape a barking dog.

Humane Officers brought the raccoon into Idaho Humane Society Shelter Medical Center for x-rays and care.

It was discovered that the raccoon had sustained several broken toes, but luckily that was the extent of his injuries. The Humane Society provided antibiotics, cleaned his toes, and passed him over to the Animals In Distress Association & Ruth Melichar Bird Center.

The Idaho Humane Society is asking for help in identifying who placed the illegal trap. Anyone with information should email outreach@idahohumanesociety.org.

CLARENVILLE, CANADA – Mike Andrews was out with a friend and his dog for a walk off-leash when his daughter’s Labrador retriever, Alba, got trapped in a steel conibear trap. They went to a local beach, where the dogs went into the water. At this moment, Andrews heard Alba utter a terrifying scream. According to Andrews, “she had steel bars across her neck on either side, pinned to the ground. I could tell right away that if we didn’t get her out, she was going to die sometime soon.” The trap may have been there to trap and kill otters. Alba was saved after Andrews’s friend figured out how to pry the trap open so she could escape. Andrews was also injured, requiring stitches in one of his fingers. There was allegedly no signage around alerting people to the presence of the traps here.

WATSON LAKE, CANADA – A woman in Watson Lake, Yukon, is devastated after her dog was killed in a trap that had apparently been set for wolves or lynx. She and her dog Scout had gone for their daily excursion down a trail on the southeast edge of town. When she realized Scout had gone missing, her friend soon found Scout nearby, dead in a conibear trap. Zorn estimates it was about about two to three meters off the trail. She remains baffled as to why the trap had been set so close to the recreational trail she uses almost every day. “This is the trail that my dog ran almost every day for two years. So we weren’t off the beaten track, in fact we were on the beaten track,” she said. According to the local conservation officer, the trap was legally placed.

CONWAY, SC – Sadie got loose from her owner and was gone for 3 days. She returned with an injury to her back right leg and paw. She was immediately taken to the veterinarian, who stated that her leg had been trapped by a snare. The snare had killed the blood supply to her paw, making her muscles, tendons, ligaments, and even toes start to die off. The injured area became extremely infected. Sadie was put on antibiotics and pain medication for 2 weeks, hoping to get blood supply back and enable healthy tissue to regrow. After 2 weeks, Sadie lost two toes due to necrosis as well as the skin on the bottom of her paw. The veterinarian concluded that there was no saving the paw; they amputated Sadie’s entire leg to prevent sepsis from spreading.

Las Vegas, NV – Bobby Vaske, his wife, Jessica, and their two children frequent hikes with their two dogs at the same location: west of Centennial Parkway up past the 215 Beltway. One day, their dogs alerted them to a fox stuck in a trap by their paw. After they noticed the fox in the trap, one of their dogs set off a second trap close by. “My dog did step in it and luckily didn’t get hurt, but it could have been my kids!” said Jessica. “I was just very surprised and I wanted to help the animal,” recalls their 12-year-old son, Dylan. “I didn’t want to leave it.”

At that point, Vaske drove home and went to his garage, found a broomstick with a hollow tube, got an extension cord, looped it through the end of the tube to make something resembling a dog catcher noose, and a laundry basket to put over the fox while they attempted to get the trap off of his foot.

The Vaske family believes the trappers used a glittery garland wrapped around a desert plant to mark the fox’s den–which was just feet away. “They put the trap right on his doorstep to where he couldn’t come out of his home without stepping on that trap,” said Jessica. “That is just so wrong! I saw a piece of rancid meat right next to the trap, and I didn’t know that any of this was legal.”

It is a gross misdemeanor in the state of Nevada to disturb somebody else’s trap. Upon investigation, however, game wardens didn’t cite Vaske for freeing the fox and found the trapper did nothing wrong.