The Maine lynx lawsuit has finally reached a conclusion. After over a year of litigation and a six-day trial this past spring and summer, federal judge John Woodcock issued a 30 page ruling yesterday, which put an end to the current efforts of animal rights activists to ban many forms of trapping in northern Maine. Here's what you need to know: "The Court denies the … [Read more...]
Activists Bring Out Their ‘Expert’ in Lynx Lawsuit
Trapping in northern Maine is under fire yet again, this time with the re-emergence of the Canada lynx lawsuit that rocked the trapping community this past fall and winter. Yesterday in Bangor, federal judge John Woodcock heard testimony in the lawsuit filed by two animal rights groups in an attempt to virtually put an end to trapping in its current form in northern … [Read more...]
Feds Expand Canada Lynx Critical Habitat Designation
Well, it looks like the Canada lynx will get widespread critical habitat designation after all. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it will expand the area of critical habitat for Canada lynx by more than 20 times, overruling a Bush Administration decision. The former administration concluded that landowners were already managing their land in such a way that … [Read more...]
Trapping Is Humane
Amongst the mayhem of recent lawsuits by environmental groups to ban certain types of trapping in Maine to 'protect' Canada lynx, much discussion has ensued on message boards, blogs and various other websites. Many questions have risen about trapping, as a larger base of the uninformed public has started hearing more about this issue and wants more background. In one of those … [Read more...]
Judge Rejects Request to Stall Trapping in Lynx Habitat in Maine
Maine trappers won a small victory this week when the federal judge overseeing a lawsuit by anti-trapping groups rejected their request to restrict trapping in lynx habitat for the rest of the season. The request to cut the trapping season short in lynx habitat came after a second lynx was killed in a trap in northern Maine, prompting arguments that the state's trapping laws … [Read more...]
Second Lynx Killed in Northern Maine
Another Canada lynx has been reported killed in a trap in northern Maine this week, but this time the animal was found dead by a Maine state game warden after following tracks in the woods. This is the second lynx confirmed killed by trapping this year, further indicating that the lynx population is as abundant as it's ever been, but its prey densities are declining, causing … [Read more...]
Maine Trapping Laws Change Again, To Avoid Taking Lynx
After the accidental trapping death of a Canada lynx in northern Maine on November 17th, in the midst of a lawsuit by environmentalists aimed at halting trapping, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has adopted new regulations to avoid another such incident. You can see the photo below, provided to the media by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and … [Read more...]
Lynx Killed in Northern Maine Could Affect Lawsuit
Talk about bad timing for Maine trappers. Just when it looked like trappers were making headway defending a lawsuit by animal rights groups to ban land trapping in northern Maine, a lynx was reportedly killed in a trap set for other furbearing species this week. The dead lynx will undoubtably be used by animal rights groups to show that Maine's trapping activities are harming … [Read more...]