Search Trapping Incidents Database

While searching for a missing person a desert area near homes and a road, Search and Rescue K9 Hope almost stepped on two side by side engaged leghold traps. This was a close call, as the traps were noticed just in time by the handler before the dog could step on them.

Oneida County, NY — An unnamed dog was caught in a Conibear 220 trap that was legally placed in the Penn Mountain State Forest.

Hunter was caught in a Conibear 220 trap that was unlabeled and 30 feet off a hiking trail at Stone Mountain in the woods. Hunter choked to death within 5 minutes, and it took 15 minutes to hacksaw the trap off. The trap was illegal, set by an unknown poacher.

A woman and her two daughters saw their dog, Meesha, killed by a seven-inch Conibear 220 trap set a short distance from one of the cross-country ski center’s trails.

Taking PeeWee for a walk in the patch of woods behind his house, he found her lying next to the river by the trees. The trap was around her neck and she died while he was trying to release it. The trap was set for a raccoon, set on its side on the pathway and held up with two sticks.

On a state game land, where Browning’s caregivers frequently walk him and sightsee with their two daughters (ages 2 and 4). Browning was in the trap for about 10 minutes before being rescued. “He can hardly walk on it today from it being so sore and swollen,” writes his caregiver, who adamantly opposes traps. “This is my second pet to fall victim to a trap,” she adds. “Unfortunately, my cat was not as lucky, and after five days and two chewed-off hind legs, she was able to crawl home to us, only to have to be euthanized immediately. She fell victim to an illegal trap on my grandmother’s posted land.”

A steel hunting trap meant for a fox, set next to the Metro’s Redline rails (by New York Avenue) near the Brentwood Postal Facility in Northeast DC ensnared Trapper, crushing his front leg.

A woman found the cat on her porch. She called Feline Friends, a nonprofit cat and kitten rescue group, who told her to take the cat to the South Bay Veterinary Hospital. The cat’s tail was dangling by a thin piece of skin. A bloody stump was all that was left of his right hind paw. “His foot was pretty much gone,” said the veterinarian who operated on the kitten. “It was traumatized beyond belief.” The kitten is resilient and bounced back in little over a week. “He’s doing great,” the veterinarian said. “We let him out in the clinic when it’s slow, and he moves around. He’s eating great and trying to jump on stuff. He’s being very playful and affectionate.”

A woman found the cat caught in the trap inside the engine compartment of her car while parked at a local Albertson’s supermarket. It’s unknown whether the cat made the trip with her or whether he crawled inside the compartment while she was at the store. She called animal control, and an officer came to rescue the injured feline. “The trap itself crushed all of the bones in the cat’s leg and have probably done permanent nerve damage. These traps are extremely strong and on a small leg of a cat, they do immeasurable damage,” said a spokeswoman with the Idaho Humane Society. Humane Society officials say if his broken leg worsens, they may have to amputate it. Authorities have offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who set the illegal steel leghold trap. They are also looking for the cat’s owner.

A local reporter found her cat, Kitty, mewling outside her open apartment window. The bone of his front leg were visible through broken and bleeding skin. Horrified, she brought him inside, where he dragged his way across the kitchen floor, trailing blood from his limp paw. “It looked really alien,” she said. “He was bleeding everywhere.” When she took Kitty to the vet the next morning, she was told the animal’s wounds did not seem to be have been caused by an animal attack or a car accident. There were no teeth marks or crushed bones, and the cat was otherwise uninjured. The vet told her the fracture and missing skin were consistent with those of a cat trying desperately to free itself from a wire snare. Unfortunately, the wounds were also too severe to save the cat’s leg. It would have to be amputated, at a cost of more than $500.