Trapping Law Helps Protect North Carolina Landowners

Here’s some trapping related news I thought I’d pass on for those of you in North Carolina.

Individuals in Alamance County, North Carolina are pushing for the extension of a fox trapping law that has helped protect landowners from property damage since its inception in 2006. The ‘local bill’ applies on the county level and allows for a longer fox trapping season than statewide regulations allow.

The current local bill, which expired Jan. 31, 2008, extended the fox trapping season to include the months of October, November and December. Many locals hope the bill is renewed. Fox are considered a nuisance in many rural areas, and while trapping has not been shown to drastically reduce their numbers, it is often effective at controlling animals causing damage and keeping populations at healthy levels.

Trappers get calls from landowners to trap their property for a variety of reasons.

Some are from farmers with crop damage. Other calls come from livestock producers who want to protect chickens and other fowl, or their populations of game animals like rabbits and squirrels.
“A lot of landowners want to protect their rabbits and quails,” Keck said.
Still others, Keck said, come from folks who spot foxes in their yards and worry about rabies.

New York Extends Emergency Trapping Regulations

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation announced last week that it would extend the emergency trapping regulations put in place at the beginning of the 2007 season.  The regulations were adopted to avoid the incidental killing of dogs and other pets with conibear (body gripping) traps set on the ground for raccoon and fisher.

Body gripping traps have revolutionized trapping because they provide a quick, clean kill for most furbearers.  Unfortunately, they sometimes have the potential to kill the occasional pet, when set in the wrong place.  Trappers should always be aware of the potential for catching non-target critters and pets, and try to avoid such situations so that these regulations are not neccessary. 

The emergency rules require specific dog-proof cubby sets when using body grippers, as well as a minimum setback distance from public hiking trails, among other specifics.  The rules will be extended for about two months, and comments will be reviewed and permanent regulations put in place.

Read the list of emergency regulations here

Settlement Reached in Maine Lynx Trapping Lawsuit

Well, here it is.  After a few months of back and forth, the State of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has settled a lawsuit with the California-based Animal Protection Institute, which sued the state under the premise that state-approved trapping activities threaten Canada lynx. 

State Agrees to Restrict Trapping to Protect Threatened Lynx

Sportsmen Settle Suit and Protect Trapping in Maine

The results of the settlement have been sort of a mixed bag for trappers.  On the one hand, trapping in northern Maine can continue.  On the other, however, trappers have had to give up some important tools and methods, even though trapping has only resulted in two dead lynx in Maine, compared to 11 killed by automobiles. 

As a result of the lawsuit, the use of conibears on the ground has been prohibited, except in certain cases.  Furthermore, the most effective coyote traps (traps with a jaw spread of over 5 3/8″) are no longer allowed in northern Maine. 

One of the many problems I see with this is that restricting the use of these traps will make it harder for trappers to catch coyotes, and coyotes compete with lynx for a common food source, especially during winters with little snow. 

The bottom line is that research has shown that lynx populations are driven primarily by the snowshoe hare cycle, and most lynx deaths are a result of starvation.  In addition, fishers have been documented killing a number of lynx, and the state has taken measures to reduce fisher catch because of concern for declining fisher populations.  So we’re changing laws that may result in an increase in species that cause detriment to lynx populations.  But hey, we reduced the chances of killing 2 lynx over the next 10 years by restricting the rights of trappers.  Smart.

See more on the issue from Tom Remington’s Black Bear Blog here and here

New York DEC Adopts Emergency Trapping Regulations

To avoid the potential for trappers to incidentally harm or kill dogs with bodygripper traps set on or near the ground, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation has adopted emergency regulations that will restrict the way many trappers operate.  The regulations deal mainly with dog-resistant cubby sets, blind conibear sets, and mandatory trap setback distances from public trails. 

The New York State Trappers Association supported the regulations, and encouraged their trappers to make sets that avoid the potential to catch dogs even before the new rules were in place.  The regulations were already in the rule-making phase, but the DEC adopted them as emergency rules to avoid potential conflicts with pet owners in the upcoming trapping season.

See the full story here