Search Trapping Incidents Database

A bald eagle with a missing leg and talon was brought to the Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast. The rehabilitators suspected that the injury was caused by a steel-jaw leghold trap. The stress on the one leg was causing the eagle many problems and the rehabilitators decided not to re-release the bird back into the wild.

A trapper employed by the federal government’s Wildlife Services was investigated for trapping, killing, and failing to report a golden eagle caught in a government leghold trap. The eagle was found alive and struggling by 8 teenagers and their instructor while they were hiking in a wilderness therapy program. When a conservation officer arrived at the scene the eagle was gone; only feathers and blood remained.

Lenoir County, NC — 2 beagles were dropped in the overnight box at a animal shelter after being caught in leghold traps.

A dog was caught by snare set on a farm while on a walk with caregiver. The snare, though placed in an area heavily frequented by dogs and their caregivers, was set legally.

A hunter had placed Shiela and 2 other dogsin an enclosed running pen on his property. When he returned later in the evening, he found the pen empty and evidence a coyote had dug into the pen. The dogs had tracking collars, and the hunter searched for them. When he found Shiela, she had been killed in a snare trap, designed to choke a coyote in a wire lasso. The trap was illegally placed and out of season.

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, VT — Levi was killed by a conibear trap set in the refuge and baited with a muskrat carcass. Officials from Vermont’s Fish and Game Department unapologetically told Levi’s caregiver that the trap was set legally and that she should not have allowed her dog to be without a leash.

Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada — Brutus suffocated when a beaver trap snapped over his throat. The dog went limp after about a minute of struggling. The trap was set beside a stream that is only about 100 meters from the road. There were no signs warning about the trap. Following this incident, the City of Port Coquitlam took immediate action to remove beaver traps from public property.

Wai’alae Nui, HI — A family found a neighbor’s cat caught in a steel-jaw leghold trap in their front yard and rushed him to the vet where he later died. An unknown person had tied the trap to a tree in their yard.

A man was walking his 2 dogs in a wooded area near his home when 1 of the dogs ran down to the creek and was caught by the head in a conibear trap. The man struggled to remove the trap for several minutes but the dog died before he was successful. The trap was set legally.

A woman walking her Brittany spaniel on public property let the dog off the leash to run. The dog was caught by the head in a trap baited with fish guts. The woman could not remove the trap and stayed with her dog until she died. The woman then walked to the police station.