ACTION ALERTS

Help Save the Animals Asia Bear Sanctuary »

One Million Kids Against the Ivory Trade »

Get The Facts - The Truth About Trapping

In this section you will learn and have access to information that will help you to counter the arguments given in support of the use of body-gripping traps. You will find what is useful to know, and how to apply the information in seeking to ban cruel traps.

No two campaigns to ban cruel traps will be identical in every way, but here you will find the kind of information that should assist you in addressing the specific issues of your own campaign.

---

Why & Where Animals Are Trapped

Virtually all wildlife trapping falls under one of two broad categories:

1. Killing Animals for Fur: Traplines and fur farms are the sources of fur and fur trim used for various forms of clothing and accessories. Born Free USA united with API is part of the Fur Free Alliance, which addresses the fur trade issues. By reducing the use of furs, we can reduce the number of animals suffering from the cruelty of trapping. While there may be some animals trapped for fur in urban and suburban settings, it is particularly associated with rangelands, forests and wilderness or semi-wilderness areas.
2. Wildlife Damage Control: This includes everything from dealing with problems caused by animals to owners of residences or small businesses (such as skunks under the back porch or woodchucks in the vegetable garden) to massive slaughter of wildlife in the name of predator control (such as the killing of coyotes on public rangeland at the behest of sheep farmers) or to eradicate populations of wildlife deemed as "vermin" or "pests" (such as ground squirrels or prairie-dogs). Such trapping can occur anywhere the law allows, but is mostly associated with urban and suburban regions, farmland and open rangeland.

Sometimes these two broad categories overlap. Animals killed in order to remove predators or "nuisance" wildlife may also have their skins marketed for fur.

Trapping on National Wildlife Refuges

Born Free USA united with API has worked hard on the problem of trapping on National Wildlife Refuges, originally set aside to provide sanctuary for wildlife, but are now places where large numbers of wild animals are killed.

Impact on Non-Target Animals & Humans

Fur trappers will tell you that it is in their interest to catch only the species they are after, and that they have the skills to set traps that will only catch those species. The sad reality is that most traps are notoriously indiscriminate. Nooses designed to catch squirrels running along limbs may ensnare woodpeckers taking the same route, or a curious jay. Leghold traps or footsnares set for foxes may snap on the foot of a deer or a dog or anything else that steps on the trap. Baits meant for wolves are known to attract eagles, rare species such as wolverines, or other non-target animals. A companion dog out walking with her owner or a cat looking for mice near a stream may suddenly be crushed by a Conibear trap set for muskrats. Even people, particularly curious children, can be caught or hurt by these traps.

As tragic as all this is, it is important to remember that you can use such sad incidences to help convince the appropriate legislating authority to ban the use of these traps.

Born Free USA united with API is actively involved in documenting abuse of animals for traps. Please take a moment to examine our Trapping Incident Report Form. By filling it out and submitting it to Born Free USA united with API it helps us to produce the data-base so necessary to convince authorities, the media and the general public that quite apart from what they do to the animals they are meant to catch, body-gripping traps are a menace to companion animals, non-target wildlife and even humans, and should be banned.