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NOTE: The following is only a partial list (still in progress) of animals and humans trapped. Because non-targets are not required to be reported there is no way to know how many animals are trapped, injured, and/or killed by body-gripping traps throughout the United States and Canada.
| Date | Victim(s) | Status | Details of Incident | Type of Trap | Source |
| 06/17/08 | Dog Dachshund | Survived swelling, bruising, and "probably some nerve damage" | Newburgh, NY A dachshund was caught in a steel-jaw leghold trap before being released. The trap was on private property, within a hundred feet of roughly ten dwellings, in a Historical District on Grand Street, a residential section of the city where many children and pets live. No neighbors were notified about the trap, nor was information about the trap posted. The trap was not tagged with identification. In a stroke of irony, the trap was set by the dachshund's guardians, took custody of the dog and never gave feedback. It was reported that the individuals responsible for the trapping were within their legal rights. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 05/17/08 | Dog 11-year-old American Eskimo Rosie | Died | Kitchener, BC, Canada A man took his dog, Rosie, out for a hike in the Goat River area, an old logging site north of Kitchener, when Rosie stumbled into a leghold trap. The trap, with its tension set to hold a much larger wolf, snapped shut, crushing the dog's leg. The pain-wracked animal then stepped into another trap, which crushed another leg. Unable to pry either of the traps open, even aided by the adrenaline rush brought on by his companion's frantic response to the pain, the man unwound the attached chains from clumps of bushes and carried Rosie to his vehicle. The dog sunk its teeth into both of his hands on the way. When he arrived at the veterinary clinic his worst fears were confirmed - the legs were so badly damaged that the only compassionate recourse was to have Rosie euthanized. Even the veterinarian couldn't get the traps completely open. The traps had been set as a Ministry of Environment initiative to save the small - there are only 15 left - herd of mountain caribou. A trapper had set "up to a half dozen traps" in the area. A pack of three or four wolves was his target. The traps were all removed immediately after reports were received, and ministry personnel are reassessing the situation. One wolf from the single known pack in the area was trapped and killed before Rosie's tragic death. | Leghold | Creston Valley Advance |
| 04/30/08 (reported) | Dog basset hound Bubba | Died | Juneau, AK Several dogs were being walked on the Eagle River Trail in Juneau as part of a Doggie Day Care outing. Bubba, who was in the care of the Gastineau Humane Society, and another dog went missing initially during a game of fetch. One came back when called, but Bubba didn't respond. The dog was found the next day right off the trail in a conibear trap. | Conibear | Channel 2 News |
| 04/23/08 | Cat Castor | Died euthanized | Saanich, BC, Canada When Castor disappeared Wednesday evening, his caregiver and others tracked the meowing cat to the backyard of a nearby home. They found Castor seriously injured in a Conibear trap, caught by the belly. were no fractures but there were extensive internal injuries to the organs. After nearly a week in intensive care at the veterinary clinic, Castor was put to sleep on 04/27/08. His caregivers intend to sue the trap owner for Castor's medical expenses of almost $3,300. The cat died a few days after being taken to a veterinary clinic for treatment. The man was later charged with animal cruelty. An animal protection officer said, "Our constable reported to a cat in a conibear trap last year in the same block. The cat survived." | Conibear | Times Colonist (Victoria), 04/26/08; Times Colonist (Victoria), 04/28/08 |
| 04/07/08 (reported) | Dog Golden retriever, female Ava | Survived | Southern UT A woman hiker looking for Native American artifacts found a dog caught in a coyote trap. The dog had been there about a day, caught by the left front leg. She freed the dog from the trap and then spent a week and a half trying to track down the dogs family. The dog wasnt wearing a collar, and no one responded to fliers and newspaper ads. Meanwhile, the vets taking care of the dog, now named Ava, thought she would need to lose the injured leg. The woman was not in a position to care for Ava long-term. When it became obvious that nobody would claim Ava, she was taken to Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, UT, to heal and for later adoption. | Leghold | Best Friends News, 04/07/08 |
| c. 03/24/08 | Dog Hound dog, female | Survived? left rear leg amputated at hip | Carthage, IL A dog was found caught in a trap by the local Animal Control warden on 04/07/08. The dog had been in the trap about two weeks, and apparenlty had tried to chew off her left rear leg to get free. Photos at the pound where she was taken show her leg hanging by just a couple of bones. She was extremely emaciated, dehydrated, with a low heart rate. Surgery was scheduled for the same day to remove her leg at the hip. | Leghold | Personal communication from caregiver |
| c. 03/19/08 | Cat | Died? | Upper Askam, PA A feral cat with a leghold trap on his front paw wandered into a woman's yard. The cat wandered off before an SPCA responder arrived to take care of the animal. The woman's only recourse was to use a humane cat trap and return the cat to the SPCA for euthanasia. Since the cat wandered off, presumably it "die[d] a slow agonizing death." | Leghold | Wilkes-Barre CitizensVoice.com, 03/22/08 |
| 03/13/08 | Dog female, pregnant Sahara | Survived | St. Louis, MO A dog was found in an old warehouse off north Union near Interstate 70 in north St. Louis. A woman called Stray Rescue after some coworkers spotted the injured dog limping. The pregnant dog, named Sahara by the rescue worker, was sedated and the trap removed from her leg. X-rays revealed that there were no broken bones, but Sahara had also been shot. Stray Rescue is now offering a reward to find out who may be responsible for mistreating the animal. | Leghold | KTVI Fox 2, St. Louis, MO, 03/13/08 |
| c. 03/12/08 | Cat Lenny | Survived | Saskatoon, SK, Canada A family was surprised to see their cat Lenny coming home caught in a leghold trap and dragging a large wooden stake. The jaws of the trap were clamped firmly around the abdomen of their cat, who was in obvious pain and gasping for air. A veterinarian removed the trap and within a few days Lenny was back to normal. The family said they're still upset and angry, and wonder who could have put out such a dangerous device in a neighborhood where numerous children and pets run around. The trap is now with the Saskatoon SPCA, which is investigating the incident. | Leghold | CBC News, 03/17/08 |
| c. 02/12/08 | Dog 6-year-old St. Bernard mix Griz | Survived | Alberton, MT A woman walking along a road in the woods with her dog was frightened when a small Conibear trap snapped shut on her dog's foot. After pulling the trap loose she became angry. The trap had no owner's tag, so she followed the ATV tracks to a neighbor's house and confronted the trapper. Except for lacking an identification tag, the trap, set for rabbits, was legal. | Conibear | The Missoulian, 02/26/08 |
| 02/12/08 | Dog bluetick coonhound Bulger | Died - killed with shotgun | Sperryville, VA A man found his dog, Bulger, dead in a leghold trap, killed by a shotgun. His neighbor, who had set the traps for coyotes, found Bulger and another dog (see 02/07/08 incident below) and, thinking they were strays, shot them. The neighbor was charged with two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. | Leghold | Rappahannock News, 02/28/08 |
| 02/08/08 (reported) |
Dog Airedale, female Kona | Survived injured right front paw | Bend, OR Kona's caregiver writes, "Leaving the truck just off China Hat Road, we walked up a side road along a low ridge. Not more than 10 minutes from the truck, I heard my Airedale vocalize, followed by several coyote howls. I whistled to bring the dog back to me, but she didnt come in like she usually does when coyotes are around. I kept walking and whistling, and in a few minutes circled back to the area I had heard her call from. She was sitting under a small tree with her right front paw caught in a leg hold trap. As I got up to her, I could see the area was trampled, blood-stained and littered with bird feathers." It took him several minutes to get the trap on Kona's toes, and three vet visits have so far cost $485. Not only was the trap perfectly legal, but if Kona's caregiver had damaged the trap in anyway, he would have broken the law. Nor is the trapper liable for vet bills for Kona's injuries. The incident changed the man's opinion about leghold traps. | Leghold | The Bend Bulletin, 02/08/08 |
| 02/07/08 | Dog 11-month-old Labrador-Rottweiler mix | Died - killed with shotgun | Sperryville, VA A woman thought it was strange when her dog, Jeezy, went missing. The 11-month-old puppy usually did not wander far from her home. He mostly remained around the house, playing with his older brother. "Most of the time they stayed in the yard, they really didn't go anywhere," she said. "But one day they were gone." The next day the family went looking for the lost dog. They trudged through the woods as far as a half-mile from home, but found no sign of him. A week later her neighbor told her why. Her dog was dead. And so was his bluetick coonhound. The two dogs had been caught in leghold traps on the property of a neighbor, who later shot them, thinking they were strays. The neighbor was charged with two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. | Leghold | Rappahannock News, 02/28/08 |
| 02/03/08 | Dog cattle dog, male Indy | Died | Flint Township, MI A man took his dogs for a walk in the garden of his local synagogue. Indy ran off to sniff around the edge of the small pond just north of the gazebo. "That's when I heard a noise I'll never forget," said Indy's guardian. "I don't even know how to describe it something between a snap and a scream and a grunting sound. Indy was only maybe 20 feet away from me. I ran to him and looked down to see this thing like four pieces of U-shaped metal closed around his head and neck and into his mouth." The trap was placed in a 5-gallon plastic bucket baited with an open can of tuna fish, on private property intended for family use. Indy's guardian called 911, and for the next half-hour, he fought against the heavy metal springs while Indy slowly suffocated in his arms. "He was trying to stay calm, and I was trying to keep the trap open, waiting for the police to arrive," he said. "I looked into that dog's eyes for however long it was and watched him stare back at me. About five minutes before the police came, he died." The trap was illegally set, the trap's owner has been identified, and faces arraignment on pending charges. | Conibear | The Flint Journal, 03/02/08 |
| 02/03/08 | Dog golden retriever Toby | Died decapitated | Dunlap, TN A man and his 11-year-old son were walking their golden retriever, Toby, when the dog wandered off their property and put his head inside a box that contained the trap. The trap snapped shut and decapitated the dog. The unmarked trap was baited with bacon and illegally placed only 2 inches inside the box; state law requires the traps to be set back at least 12 inches. Another dog was killed by the same trap and its carcass was discarded nearby. The owner of the second dog hasn't been located. The trapper could face up to eight misdemeanor charges for various violations. | Conibear | Chattanooga Times Free Press, 02/05/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 02/06/08 |
| 02/02/08 | Cat Cynthia | Survived left front leg amputated | Addison, NY Cynthia may have been in the trap for as long as two days. "By the time she made it home the leg was cold, oozing, and had a terrible smell. She also had a raging infection and fever. The foot was horribly swollen and had an obvious crush across the paw." The left front leg had to be amputated. The incident was reported but the trap owner was not charged with a violation. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/27/08 | Dog husky | Survived injured leg, canine teeth broken off trying to chew out of the trap | Seward Highway, AK A couple were hiking with a friend's husky in Chugach National Forest near Mile 86 of the Seward Highway. They parked at the large national forest sign south of Girdwood. The dog ran ahead and was caught in a leghold trap. They managed to release the dog, whose leg was injured but not broken. The dog broke several teeth biting at the trap. | Leghold | Anchorage Daily News, 03/09/08 |
| 01/20/08 | Dog 6-year-old Labrador retriever, Midnight | Survived | Chugach State Park, AK A woman's retriever was caught in a 330 Conibear about 20-30 yards off the Penguin Creek Trail in Chugach State Park. The trap was baited with salmon filets. After about 20 minutes, the woman and her friends figured out the spring mechanism and released the dog, which was uninjured. | Conibear | Anchorage Daily News, 03/09/08 |
| 01/19/08 | Golden eagle adult male | Died euthanized after suffering an irreparable leg injury | Missoula, MT A golden eagle was found with a conibear trap on one of its legs in a grove of trees in Clinton, near Missoula, on Friday afternoon. The raptor apparently carried it for several days over an unknown distance before it was grounded with a mangled leg. The trap also did not have a tag with the trapper's name, which is required by law. State authorities said the trap appeared to have been set by an inexperienced trapper, a poacher or someone trying to trap a nuisance dog or cat, which also is illegal. The bird was a healthy adult male weighing about 8 pounds, but its leg was injured beyond repair by the weight of the 3-pound trap. | Conibear | www.missoulian.com, 01/22/08 |
| 01/19/08 | Wolf gray male pup | Survived but found dead 2 days later | East Fork of the Bitterroot, MT "A wolf was reported caught in a coyote snare in the East Fork of the Bitterroot in MT. MFWP warden and wolf staff responded and found a male gray pup from the East Fork pack with its right front leg entwined in the snare. The rest of the pack was howling nearby and based on the condition of the animal it was not thought to have been in the snare very long. The pup was collared and released. Upon recovery the pup moved off quickly and seemed to be regaining feeling and use of the injured leg. On a monitoring flight on the 21st the collar was on mortality. Holder (MFWP) followed up on the morning of the 22nd and found the dead wolf. It will be sent to the lab for necropsy." | snare | Fish and Wildlife Service Gray Wolf Recovery Status Report, 01/25/08 |
| 01/17/08 | Dog 3-year-old pitbull and Labrador retriever mix, chocolate in color | Died | Indian Valley, AK A woman's chocolate Lab/pit bull mix was caught in a 330 Conibear during a walk on the Powerline Trail, about a quarter mile from the Upper Indian Creek trail head in Chugach State Park. The trap was baited with a large chunk of meat and set about 10 feet off the trail. The dog was crushed to death. | Conibear | Anchorage Daily News, 03/09/08 |
| mid-01/00/08 | Dog injured | Survived | Chugiak, AK A woman walking her dog along the railroad tracks south of Powder Ridge Subdivision and the Beach Lake ski trails had her dog caught in a leghold trap while it investigated a pile of railroad ties. The dog was injured but not killed. | Leghold | Anchorage Daily News, 03/09/08 |
| 01/14/08 | Cat ginger-colored, short-haired, adult male Rascal | Survived snare wire in abdomen, severe frostbite, "life-threatening" injuries | Holstein, ON, Canada Rascal was last seen by family members walking down the driveway on January 8. When he returned nearly a week later, he had a wire embedded in his abdomen and was suffering from exposure and severe frostbite to his paws. Authorities believe the wire is part of a snare and that Rascal survived by chewing the wire apart. It will take another 68 weeks of care and rest before Rascal's wounds heal completely. The legality of the snare trap is unknown. | Snare | The Sun Times (Owen Sound), 01/18/08 |
| 01/03/08 | Dog 75-pound, 5-year-old chow-shepherd cross, female Fi | Died | Kincardine, ON, Canada A woman was walking her dog, Fi, near the rail trail by the Ainsdale Golf Course in the middle of the afternoon. She let Fi loose to run free in a field near a wooded area, about 100 meters from the trail. "The next thing I heard was her screaming and jumping around with a trap on her head," she said. She ran over to Fi, who was flailing in pain with the trap crushing her muzzle and throat. "Her eyes were bulging and her tongue was out," she said. "It was the worst thing I've ever seen." Unable to open the trap she cut herself trying the woman flagged down a passing snowmobiler who was also unable to free the dog. Fi died while still in the trap, so the woman took her to Kincardine Veterinary Clinic to have them remove it. "She died right in front of me. They had to use bolt cutters to get it off of her neck." She suspects Fi was led to the trap by bait hidden under a white bucket that was found nearby. | Conibear | The Sun Times (Owen Sound), 01/09/08 |
| 01/02/08 | Cat Jim | Survived broken bones, right front leg amputated | Leechburg, PA Traps were set illegally on the grounds of a gun club, close to a woman's house. The head of the gun club puportedly set the traps to harass the woman into giving up her cats. She says that "There are carcasses of wild animals strewn everywhere near my house." The game warden has refused to help, and no charges have been filed. Vet costs so far are approaching $2,000. | Unspecified, probably leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/02/08 | Dog 7-month-old black Labrador puppy | Survived | Kincardine, ON, Canada A man was walking his dog near the Ainsdale Golf Course when the puppy caught a foreleg in a trap while running free. The man said he was able to get the trap off "after a very major struggle" and that luckily, none of his dog's bones were broken. | Unspecified, probably leghold | The Sun Times (Owen Sound), 01/09/08 |
| Winter 2007-08 | Dog Andre | Survived lower parts of left front leg and left rear leg cut off by trap | Palmer, AK Andre was caught in an animal trap or snare. A woman found him when she noticed him trailing blood across a country road. The woman nursed him back to health, although she initially didn't think he would make it. "No one had seen a dog with two legs cut off like that," she said. "The bone was sticking out on both of them. It was horrible." Now, Andre bounces around her back yard like a Pogo-Stick. When tired, he leans against the house or the fence. The plan is to fit him with artificial legs. | Unknown | Associated Press, 07/13/08 |
| 12/26/07 | Cat Belle | Survived swelling, cut, bruising, broken bones "Left distal tibia and tibiotarsal joint. Open fracture of the lateral malleolus, complete rupture of the medial collateral ligament and joint capusle, and lateral-caudal luxation of the tibiotarsal joint." | Wynantskill, NY Belle was caught in a leghold trap set in a rural populated area with many houses and children. The trap was set legally. Veterinary bills have so far totalled $3,000.00. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 12/22/07 | Cougar 2-1/2-year-old male | Died | Fairfield, ND The 150-pound mountain lion was caught in a neck snare meant for bobcats. North Dakota Game and Fish Department personnel said the cougar "pretty much died immediately." | Snare | The Bismarck Tribune, 01/09/08 |
| 12/12/07 | 2 Cougars 4- to 5-year-old female and 1- to 2-year-old offspring | Died | Grassy Butte, ND The 102-pound mother mountain lion and her 78-pound offspring were caught in neck snares about 100 yards apart. The snares were meant for bobcats. North Dakota Game and Fish Department personnel said the cougars "pretty much died immediately." Four mountain lions were accidentally trapped last season. Three died, and one, caught in a foot-hold trap, was tranquilized and fitted with a radio collar. | Snare | The Bismarck Tribune, 01/09/08 |
| 12/05/07 | 2 Dogs injured | Survived | Outside Chugach State Park, AK The Alaska Department of Fish and Game received an anonymous complaint of two dogs caught in traps on trails near Mile 5 and Mile 9 of the Knik River Road. Both dogs were injured, but the extent and the types of traps are not known. | Unknown | Anchorage Daily News, 03/09/08 |
| 12/00/07 | Dog 100-lb mixed breed Bo Diddley | Survived | Palmer, AK Bo Diddley stepped on a trap about 10 feet off a trail near Palmer in December. His caregiver got Bo Diddley out of the trap. She then took the trap, left the trapper a nasty note and reported the incident to the Alaska Board of Fish and Game. She also organized a letter-writing campaign. Then she was charged with stealing the trap, hindering lawful trapping and criminal mischief. The charges were later dropped. | Unknown | Associated Press, 07/13/08 |
| 11/27/07 (reported) | Bobcats one a yearling, the other full-grown | Survived | Fountain City, WI When two boys checked their traps "earlier this month," they found a 10- to 15-pound bobcat. The boys' fathercalled a local game warden to free the yearling cat. Then the father also found a full-grown bobcat when he checked the traps a few days later. | Unknown | WKBT-TV |
| 11/26/07 | Dog akbash guard dog, female Buddy | Survived toes amputated | Frenchtown, MT Buddy was caught in a snare trap. "The circulation was completely cut off in her front paw, and they waited until 10 days to try to get the circulation going before making the decision to remove the leg. At the last minute, there was blood in the pad and one toe, the other toes had to be amputated." | Snare | Footloose Montana |
| c. 11/14/07 | Cat Colleen | Died | Van Meter, IA Colleen the cat went missing on November 14. Four days later Colleen's caregiver's son found her in a ditch, caught in a "foothold" trap set for a rabbit or raccoon. "Colleen was alive when he checked the trap and then he killed her," the caregiver said. "He just didn't care." She contacted state officials, who told her that because the trap was not set on her property, there was nothing they could do. The trap was set legally. | Leghold | Des Moines Register, 12/05/07 |
| 11/04/07 | Dog Australian cattle dog and border collie mix, female Scaredly | Survived | York, ME While hiking on Mount Agamenticus, a man heard some "serious barking screaming, basically" from his dog. When he got to his dog, he found a metal trap on her paw. Although the man said he quickly figured out how the trap worked, freeing his dog was a more serious issue. "It took so much strength to get it off," he said. His fellow hiker went for help. Two hours later animal control and police officers arrived and got the trap off her paw. The device that caught Scaredly was a leghold trap, designed to catch small animals such as muskrats, and baited with a bagel. The trap was not labeled, as is required. | Leghold | www.seacoastonline.com, 11/07/07 |
| 10/24/07 (reported) | Human adult woman | Survived with minor injuries to hand | Stony Plain, AB, Canada A woman walking her dog in Hasse Lake Provincial Park spotted the trap. Fearing it could be dangerous for children or dogs, she tried to disable it by fiddling with some levers on the back, but it clamped shut on her hand. Two fishermen managed to pry the trap open. She managed to escape without any broken bones, but she says she plans to ask both the county which has confirmed it owned the trap and the provincial government why the trap was there without warning signs. | Unspecified, probably a small leghold | Calgary Sun, 10/24/07 |
| 10/21/07 | Dog Siberian husky Sage | Died | Fredenberg Township, MN A woman riding horseback on state land sensed her dog was in trouble. Fearing he may have encountered a wolf, she rode home to get her husband before investigating. By the time they returned, the dog was dead, caught in a Conibear trap. The trap was set by an unlicensed trapper. | 220 Conibear | Duluth News Tribune, 10/23/07 |
| 10/20/07 | Dog yellow lab Toby | Survived swelling and bruising | near Standing Rock monument, Southeast ND While pheasant hunting, a group legally entered un-posted land next to a creek/drainage ditch, on a bridge over a gravel road. Almost immediately, Toby started bawling in pain. His right front foot was caught in the trap. Also, Ray, one of the elderly hunters, was caught in another trap while trying to help release the dog. There were 4 or 5 illegal traps all set on land around that culvert and just off the gravel road. None were marked with any identification or flags. Fortunately, members of the group were able to release the dog and hunter from the 2 traps. They tripped the others so no other people or dogs would get injured. The dog was okay and hunter was bruised, but okay. It probably took 15 minutes to release the dog and hunter, "with a lot of struggle". | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form and Trap Free Oregon Incident Report |
| late July or early August 2007 | Cat Peanut | Died | Topeka, KS Peanut was caught in a trap meant for skunks. Although the backyard was surrounded by a 6-foot fence, Peanut managed to get in and was caught by the unbaited trap. The nuisance wildlife control operator (NWCO) hired to remove the skunks was convicted of animal cruelty and order to pay a fine of $393. The NWCO initially apologized for the accidental killing to Peanut's caregivers, and returned Peanut's remains to them. The NWCO later wrote, "I was mailed a ticket from the city of Topeka. The city's position is that since I intended to kill the skunk, the death of Peanut was intentional as well." | Conibear | Topeka Capital-Journal Letters to the Editor, 08/12/07; Topeka Capital-Journal, 05/01/08; Topeka Capital-Journal Letters to the Editor, 05/10/08 |
| 03/04/07 | Dog border collie cross Cupcake | Died | Valley of the Moon trailhead, MT Taking advantage of the first warm Sunday of the year, a man took his two dogs for a walk in the Rock Creek drainage. He stopped to study some recent beaver activity, with both dogs within 10 yards or less, "doing what dogs do. Suddenly I heard this loud snap." That sound was immediately followed by a gurgling, strangled kind of noise. "It was a horrible sound. I knew something had happened." Cupcake had disappeared over the creek's bank onto a gravel bar just a few steps away, only to be caught in a Conibear trap that was choking him. The man was unable to get the trap off and watched Cupcake die in less than 30 seconds. The trap was set illegally. The 70-plus-year-old trapper was "very remorseful" and has since pulled his traps. | Conibear | www.missoulan.com, 03/16/07 |
| 02/17/07 | Dog Pebbles | Survived swelling, bruising, and broken bones | Tularosa, NM Pebbles's guardian and a friend were 5 miles from home off a BLM dirt road heading to an arroyo on horseback when Pebbles was caught in a leghold trap. Her guardian and friend had to stand on the trap to open it. Pebbles was in the trap for 15 minutes, but, writes her guardian, "I would have never gotten that trap off of my dog's leg if I had been alone." At the time of this holiday weekend report Pebbles had not yet seen a veterinarian. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 02/04/07 | Dog 70-pound black-and-tan mixed breed | Survived bleeding of paw pad and toes of front right leg | Virginia City Highlands, NV While the dog's caregivers walked along a road just two miles from their property, the dog ran into a little cave and was caught in a leghold trap on her front right paw pad and toes. Both caregivers were bitten as they worked to get the dog out of the trap. The dog was not seriously injured. The trap was set illegally on private property and Nevada Department of Wildlife authorities are investigating. | Leghold | Nevada Appeal, 02/07/07 |
| 02/03/07 | Dog Ace | Died | Millville, MN Ace was caught in a Conibear trap baited with fish near a trout stream just down the road from the house of Ace's caregiver's boyfriend. Ace was in the trap for a night. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 02/01/07 | Dog retriever | Survived folds on face pinched | Galena Creek Regional Park, NV A steel trap snapped shut along Jones Creek, pinching the folds of flesh on a retriever's face and causing the dog to yelp in pain. The dog was freed unharmed. The trap was set legally. | Leghold | Las Vegas Sun, 02/11/07 |
| 01/28/07 | Dog Labrador, female Snowy | Survived few injuries, but traumatized | Terrebonne, OR At a viewpoint on Grey Butte, an off-leash trail listed as in many guide books in Oregon. Snowy was caught in the trap for about 5 minutes when three young men came along at the right time and were able to help free her. Snowy dog survived with few injuries, but was traumatized. Snowy bit her guardian and guardian's mother in her panic. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/21/07 | Dog Billi Jo | Survived swelling and bruising | Indianapolis, IN In a wooded area surrounded by homes filled with dogs, cats, birds, and children, Billi was trapped for about 20 hours in the snare trap before being cut loose. The trap was legally set. | Snare | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/18/07 | Cat Lieutenant Dan (named by foster home) | Survived front paw amputated | Tillamook, OR Abandoned by his guardians who moved from an apartment complex, Dan disappeared for a week before reappearing dragging the leghold trap. His front paw was almost severed off and had to be amputated. According to the attending veterinarian, Dan had been in the trap for at least 48 hours. Dan is now in the foster care of a volunteer for United Paws of America, a local all-volunteer spay/neuter non-profit group. Police are investigating the source of the trap. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/12/07 | Dogs Great Dane (Lokee), Shepherd (Maggie) | Died/Survived Lokee died; Maggie had part of her paw amputated | Fort Macleod/Cardston, AB, Canada Along a river bank 1/2 mile from home, Maggie and Lokee were trapped in a snare for 55 hours. Maggie lay beside her buddy's body for over two days before the dogs were found, and her personality is now completely changed. The owner of the trap was never found. | Snare | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/11/07 | Human | Survived cut finger | Clearfield, PA Near a farm in the woods, a man cut his finger while trying to remove a raccoon that he had trapped. The man did not seek treatment at the hospital because of the nature of the incident. | Unknown | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/08/07 | Dog black-and-brown brindled pit bull-shepherd mix, female Holly | Survived emaciated left front leg amputated | Barre, MA A three-week search for a dog caught in a leghold trap ended when local police received a tip that the dog was in a garage at a local residence. The dog, named Holly because the search had extended through the Christmas holidays, had been spotted near the center of town on 12/16/06. Though the leg was not broken, wounds from the prolonged pressure of the trap had penetrated to the bone and could not be repaired. The leg was removed at the shoulder, and a full recovery is expected. At press time the owner of the probably illegal trap had not been indentified. | Leghold | Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA), 01/09/07 |
| 01/06/07 | Dog Malamute Kumo | Survived swelling, cut, and bruising | Joseph, OR A leghold trap on National Forest land 25 yards from a road unmaintained in winter that is a popular dog-walking and snow-shoeing and skiing site, Kumo was trapped for 5 minutes. Three trappers run lines along this two mile stretch of popular road, legally using leghold traps and snares. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 12/31/06 | 2 Dogs Polish Lowland Sheepdog and Sealyham terrier | Survived | Moab, UT About 100 yards from the parking lot of a popular hiking/biking trail, the sheepdog, Mick, was caught in a leghold trap. While his caregiver was freeing Mick, the terrier came up to see what was going on and was immediately caught in a second leghold trap, and became so terrifed she bit the man trying to free her. The sheepdog had a bruised bone and limped for several weeks; otherwise there was no permanent physical damage. The traps were legal. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps Non-Target Animal Trapping Incident Report Form |
| 12/10/06 | Dog Hope | Escaped without engaging traps | Congress, AZ 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. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 12/00/06 | Dog | Died | Fredenberg Township, MN A dog was caught in a Conibear trap. The trap was set legally in woods where children often play. | Conibear | Duluth News Tribune, 10/23/07 |
| 11/26/06 | Dog 4-year-old, 50-pound, Minnie Pinn mix Meesha | Died | Mount Van Hoevenberg, NY 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. | Conibear | HSUS Blog Spot, reprinted from Adirondack Daily Enterprise, 06/01/07 |
| 11/23/06 | Dog 5-year-old Corgi Basil | Died | Colon, NE Taking a break from preparing Thanksgiving dinner, caregiver took her 4 dogs for a walk down a country road. Basil ran into a roadside ditch and never came back. His caregiver spotted his limp body in a 220 Conibear trap; her husband, who retrieved the body, said Basil had died instantly when his neck was broken. The trap was illegal, being larger than legal limits as well as baited with a dead opossum. | Conibear | Omaha World-Herald, 02/14/07 |
| 11/22/06 | Dog terrier PeeWee | Died | Newton, IL 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. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps Non-Target Animal Trapping Incident Report Form |
| 11/22/06 | Dog 14-month-old Labrador Retriever Hunter | Died | Lake Luzerne, NY 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. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form; News10, 12/01/06 |
| c. 11/22/06 | Dog Rottweiler-Lab mix | Died | Lake Placid, NY An unnamed dog was caught in a Conibear 220 trap that was legally placed near the Cross Country Ski Trails. | Conibear | News10, 12/01/06 |
| c. 11/22/06 | Dog beagle | Died | Penn Mountain State Forest, Oneida County, NY An unnamed dog was caught in a Conibear 220 trap that was legally placed in the Penn Mountain State Forest. | Conibear | News10, 12/01/06 |
| 11/00/06 (reported 03/21/07) | Dog 2-year-old German Shorthair Pointer Santini | Died | Perryville, MD Santini was lured to a bucket baited with meat inside and the Conibear trap. "It was about 12 inches by 12 inches and it clamped down around his neck," said Santini's caregiver. The trap that killed Santini is legal in Maryland, but it is supposed to be tagged and only used sunken in marshy areas to catch muskrats. This trap was set illegally. | Conibear | Cecil Whig (Elkton, MD), 03/21/07 |
| 10/22/06 | Dog German Shorthair Pointer Browning | Survived with some bruising and swelling | Clark, PA 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." | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 10/03/06 (reported) | Cat 6-month-old male orange Tabby Trapper | Survived crushed front leg, possible amputation | Brentwood, DC 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. | Leghold, illegal | www.nbc4.com |
| 08/10/06 | Cat Smoki | Survived hind leg amputated | Fredonia, NY Smoki was caught for several hours in a neighbor's leghold trap (the second time a cat in this neigborhood has been caught in this neighbors trap). In addition to injuries severe enough to warrant amputation of a hind leg, had a broken jaw, which the veterinarian wired for 3 weeks. Cost: $400$500. Authorities said the neighbor "had every right" to have this trap on his property. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 07/10/06 | Cat black-and-white male kitten | Survived tail and right hind leg amputated | Olympia, WA 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." | Snare, illegal | The Olympian, 07/19/06 |
| 07/03/06 | Cat 4-year-old neutered male tabby | Survived leg broken and may have to be amputated | Boise, ID 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. | Leghold | Fox12Idaho.com, 07/03/06 |
| 02/28/06 | Cat male Kitty | Survived front leg amputated | Pincher Creek, AB, Canada 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. | Snare | Pincher Creek Echo, 03/31/06 |
| 02/20/06 | Dog Max | Survived rear left leg amputated, crushed rear right foot may not heal | Ravenswood, WV Max was caught in a trap somewhere near creek that runs through his caregiver's backyard. She "discovered yesterday that traps have been washing onto my property for years after floods. The trapper was in my field on the day of the incident looking for lost traps after finding out about my dog's injuries. Our last flood was several weeks ago, so the trapper is obviously not checking his traps daily as required by law." The caregiver says she will will pursue charges and seek compensation for Max's vet expenses. She writes, "The incident is very fresh, so I'm spending all of my time taking care of Max and cleaning him up. I'm still somewhat in shock." | Unknown | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 02/04/06 | Dog Lab cross Leo | Survived developed infection | Preston County, WV The incident took place on the edge of an old logging road used as popular hiking trail, in the West Virginia University research forest, which is land leased long-term from Coopers Rock State Forest. Leo's caregiver reports, "It was not feasible for me to remove the trap alone because the dog was in a frenzy and trying to bite. After running one mile round-trip to retrieve tools from my vehicle I managed to dig up the rebar stake holding the trap to the ground. Then I used a cell phone to call friends. I spent approximately 1 hour on the ground restraining and calming the dog while waiting for help. The trap was illegal because it had no identification on it. WV law states, vaguely, that traps can't be 'in human or livestock trails'. This trap was right on the edge of the trail. I notified the local newspaper and although I spoke with a reporter in person and followed up by phone with more information, no story was published to my knowledge. I know the newspaper reporter went as far as contacting the WV Division of Natural Resources because the conservation officer I spoke to mentioned it." The veterinarian treating Leo prescribed 10 days cephalexin for the infection. The caregiver further reports, "A week or more before this incident, a West Virginia University student was cited and fined for placing traps illegally (directly on trails)in the area. The WVDNR officer I spoke with said that they could not prove who set the trap that injured Leo." | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 02/00/06 | Cat | Died | New Gloucester, ME In the woods an elderly hunter found the cat dead in a trap. The man said the wounds were so severe he could not tell his wife lest it upset her. | Unknown | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/24/06 | Dog Airedale Bear | Survived with some bruising | Alto, NM On a "very busy" trail designated by the Bureau of Land Management as a hiking/recreation trail leading to the Rio Bonito petroglyphs, Bear caught his coat and a bit of his flesh in a leghold trap. Bear ran and lost the trap within one minute, suffering only mild bruising. The trap was one of nine traps located immediately off road, 3 to 20 feet from the road edge. Only two traps had faint 4-digit markings and all traps, according to game warden, were of the illegal type (not offset jaw type). | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/17/06 | Dog male Lab/Hound cross Bear | Died | Enderby, BC, Canada A woman was walking her dog Bear on a well traveled forestry road close to homes when he went ahead of her up a trail they often used. Bear cried in pain several times and the woman discovered him head first in a Conibear trap. "There was nothing I could do to get him out," she writes, "and I had to stand there and watch him die. I am traumatized and sick with grief." Bear was in the trap only a couple of minutes. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/16/06 | Dogs females, one a black Lab Roxy and Inuk | Died | La Peche, QC, Canada On the border of two residential developments, a licensed trapper set "bear" traps with fresh deer meat. In less than 36 hours three dogs separately left their homes, one of them, Boreal, breaking her metal chain. "Boreal's 20-foot chain was found tangled around a tree a few yards in front of the traps. Somehow she destroyed her collar to set herself free. Maybe it was the -20 temperature or the fatigue of the struggle that sent her home. Maybe she could not longer smell the meat, now frozen. Maybe she was just lucky. The traps were already full." Roxy and Inuk's bodies were found in a play space for children, in a wooded area with forest trails linking between friends' houses. The trapper has the right as a Quebec property owner and licensed trapper to put down traps, but the residents are outraged "that he laid the traps on the border of our family community not only drawing predators in but drawing our pets out and killing both wild and tame dogs." | "box shape for trapping coyote, name unknown" | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 01/02/06 | Dog male Joe | Died | Rapid River, MI Only 150 yards from his home, on private property across a river, Joe died shortly after being caught in the trap. It took 24 hours to locate him. Although avid trail hikers who welcome dogs on their hikes, Joe's caregivers now feel this activity has been taken away from them. "According to the DNR, there could be hundreds of these [traps] in this area. The traps are hidden in makeshift logs, and baited." The woman who reported this incident wrote, "My husband and I would be harassed if we spoke out publicly in the area. The majority of the hunters in this area poach and do not follow specific any specific laws." The trap was not illegal. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 12/25/05 | Dog male Jeffrey | Died | Southampton, NY Jeffrey's guardian was walking him close to the water's edge in a town nature preserve when Jeffrey stuck his head into some brush where the trap was hidden. "The pet owner arrived in our office frantic with the trap on the dog's head," said a representative from the Animal Rescue Fund in Wainscott. Jeffrey, which ARF rescued from the Bahamas after Hurricane Francis in 2004, was killed. The trap appeared to be illegal, its target probably muskrat. | Conibear | Pet-Abuse.com |
| 12/16/05 | Dog female Zoe | Died | Garfield County, UT Zoe was a certified therapy dog who worked with at-risk youth in a wilderness program. She was hiking on a public road with a girls' group when she was killed by the cyanide trap. The trap was 10 feet from the road at the most. A federal government trapper placed the trap on the private property at the rancher's request. Zoe's caregiver is contemplating a lawsuit against the USDA's Wildlife Services for not following guidelines of placement of M-44 traps (no closer than 50 feet from a public road or path and no closer than 200 feet from a public stream). | M-44 cyanide trap | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 12/13/05 | Bobcat | Died euthanized by Game and Fish officials and finding the right front paw almost severed, making the bobcat impossible to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild | Silver City, NM A local resident found the young adult bobcat on his 4-acre property, hiding under a bush. On the end of the chain opposite the trap, the prongs that are designed to secure the trap had obviously come loose from whatever it had been attached to, and became hung up in a chain near the man's driveway. A Game and Fish officer speculated that the bobcat may have been walking down the paved street, dragging the trap, and spooked by a car darted for the driveway. | Leghold, illegally set | Silver City Sun-News, 12/15/05 |
| 12/12/05 | Dog German Shepherd, female Dixie | Died | Vassar, MI Dixie's guardian was heading outside to let her back into the house when he realized that she had gotten away from the yard. As he headed across the street, he found Dixie crawling up a ditch with an animal trap around her neck, fighting for her life. Dixie died a short time later. The trap had no identification, so it couldn't be traced to anyone. Sheriff deputies then questioned the neighbor but said they could not prove anything. One of the man's neighbors says two of his dogs were murdered and thinks that the man who he believes is responsible, actually admitted to him that he traps and buries neighborhood pets. Sheriff deputies said they could not prove anything. | Conibear | abc12.com, 12/14/05 |
| 12/11/05 | Dog Zephyr | Died | Sag Harbor, NY In the Greenbelt Nature Preserve in Suffolk County, a Conibear trap was set in a 5-gallon bucket 50 feet from a trail by the edge of the water. Zephyr, who was rescued from Hurricane Frances in 2004 by the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, was in the trap only two minutes, but that was long enough to kill. The owner of the trap was cited for not having a tag on the trap. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 12/01/05 | Dog male | Survived leg was bleeding, taken to vet | Public land off Hwy 90 just south of the Continental Divide, NM The Tyrone Tramps, a local hiking club, was when one of the members' dogs was caught in a trap set in the middle of a well used trail up a dry wash. Another member reported that everyone in the group was upset by the incident and that the person who was able to free the dog from the trap angrily threw it into the bushes. | Leghold | Silver City Sun-News, 12/14/05 |
| 11/27/05 | Dog female 8-month-old border cocker spaniel Daisy | Died | Sunderland, ON, Canada "We live on a rural property. We have always had an open invitation to share trails. They set up traps without telling us only feet over the property line. From the trapping location you could hear our children playing in our yard." The neighbors have never apologized or taken any responsibility for this. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 11/27/05 | Dog female 3-year-old border collie cross Grizzly | Died | Weippe, ID After Grizzly went missing, her caregivers searched for hours without success. Before dawn the next morning they resumed the search, checking the nearby RV Park and Campground. The husband stepped into a trap on the edge of the pond, but managed to free himself. Five hours later they found Grizzly in the Park. Horrifying was that just a few feet away was Samson, their 5-month-old Bindle boxer cross adopted from a shelter, dead with a broken neck. Samson had disappeared just 5 days before. Apparently the trapper removed the trap from Samson and reset it. The owner of the RV Park denied all knowledge of the traps, then recanted and said they were set for beaver. The caregivers have absolutely no legal recourse. | Conibear | Personal communication from caregiver |
| 11/08/05 | Human female nurse | Survived with minor injuries to foot | Gila National Forest, NM The woman was walking in the forest when her dog stepped into a trap; when she attempted to open that trap, she stepped into a leghold trap. "I was wearing sandals at the time, and luckily was able to pull back quickly so the trap only grazed my toes, drawing some blood, before it clamped onto the end of my sandal," she said. | Leghold | Silver City Sun-News, 11/17/05 |
| 10/29/05 | Dog female 10-year-old mixed breed Candi | Survived Candi received an injection of steroid to keep her esophagus from swelling and also a painkiller | Sault Sainte Marie, MI In a wooded area behind their home, Candi's caregivers walked her and another dog. While they went over to a pond that neighborhood children had recently filled with goldfish, Candi poked her head into a bucket that was tipped on its side. Candi's caregiver watched in horror as the trap's jaws clamped down on Candi's head. Wrote the woman: "I was screaming hysterically. She was suffering and in much pain. My two children and I watched her eyes roll up in her head, she defecated, and she stopped moving. Her tongue lolled out. She was dead. We saw her die." But the man found them and knew how to spring the trap. After 30 seconds when Candi didn't move, he asked her if she wanted a treat and to go for a ride in the car. Her chest started to move and her tail wagged. "It truly was a miracle." | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 10/23/05 | Dog female terrier mix Lizzy | Died | Center Twp., PA While walking with caregiver and another dog 20 feet off a trail and on private propery, Lizzy went to sniff something at a den hole. Her head was immediately caught in the trap. In spite of valiant effors, she died in the man's arms. He carried her home and cut the trap in order to remove it. While returning the trap with a note attached with contact info, he encountered the trap owner, who became very beligerant and said: "I don't give a f--- about your dog." Lizzy's caregivers believe the trap was set illegally by a den hole, untagged and an illegal trap by PA game commission regs. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 10/13/05 | Dogs Merl and Simba | Survived but severely dehydrated, within hours of death | Makanda, IL In a forested area across the street from house, where kids and dogs play year 'round, a hunter threatened to kill the dogs if he saw them in the forest while he was hunting. The hunter set the traps within a week of making the threat. The dogs were caught in the traps and stayed overnight at the vet hospital, being unable even to drink water because of the swelling of their throats. Charges against the hunter are pending. | "Steel body trap" | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 08/11/05 | Dog female Brownie | Survived swelling, cut and bruising | Galivants Ferry, SC "I was walking with my 2 dogs near the woods when Brownie started yelping," writes her caregiver. "The trap that got her was so old and rusty there was no ribber buffer left. I took me about a full minute to figure out how to get it off. I pulled the trap out of the ground and threw it in a nearby pond!" Brownie's caregiver cleaned the wound with peroxide and bandaged it, deeming the wound not serious enough to require a vet visit. | Leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 08/00/05 | Cat male Mushy | Euthanized due to severe injuries from the trap | Dover-Foxcroft, ME On a street lined on both sides with houses, where most homes have companion animals, Mushy was found in a trap by person(s) unknown and put in the caregiver's back yard for caregiver to find. The veterinarian said that Mushy had been in the trap for a while. "Both back legs were torn to shreds and the bone splintered and hanging out." Mushy was put to sleep to end his suffering. In asking around the neighborhood, the caregiver could find no one who knew of any traps in the area. "Rumors started about middle school boys playing with traps just to see what they could catch." | Unknown | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 07/26/05 | Dog Husky/ German shepherd mix, 5 to 6 years old, female | Died | Schuylkill Haven, PA In a rural wooded area adjacent to within feet of residential backyard property, a woman saw the dog crawling and trying to paw what she thought was a muzzle of the contraption off her snout. When she approached to give the dog some water, it was discovered to be caught in a head trap. The SPCA was immediately alerted. The dog's snout, neck, and mouth were pinned by the Conibear trap. The trap could not be removed at the scene. The dog died in transport to animal hospital. It took several SPCA workers to pry the trap from the dog's head. The trap was set illegally set to catch groundhogs by a neighbor who neglected to warn neighbors in the surrounding area. Three other Conibear traps were found on his property. The man who set the trap claimed he had no idea the traps were illegal. Cats in the neighborhood have disappeared since the traps were set. Charges are expected to be filed before Magisterial district judge. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form; The Republican & Herald, 07/27/05 |
| 07/06/05 | Cat male Snowflake | Died - "euthanized due to symptoms associated with severe head trauma" | Timmins, ON, Canada A woman was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada with two counts of causing unnecessary pain and injury to a cat, Snowflake. The Timmins & District Humane Society received a complaint from her neighbour saying that the family's cat had been caught in a conibear trap (a body gripping trap traditionally used by licensed trappers) on the woman's property. Snowflake's guardians took him to a veterinarian where he was hospitalized for further observation and treatment before being sent home. Sadly, Snowflake had a poor response to therapy and his condition worsened. Less than a week after Snowflake was discharged he was brought back to the veterinarian and euthanized due to symptoms associated with severe head trauma. | Conibear | OSPCA, 12/03/05 |
| 03/13/05 | Coyote | Died | Bloomdale Cemetery, MI A coyote was caught in a snare that was part of a trap line set in residential area. The coyote was discovered by police, "starving and bleeding from the neck." Police could not release the coyote and were forced to kill the animal. | Snare | Detroit Free Press, 03/24/05 |
| 03/07/05 | Dog 15-month-old black Lab and border collie mix female Oreo Cookie | Died | Chugach State Park, AK A couple was hiking when their dog went off the trail and stuck her head into the opening of a small teepee about two feet high. An illegal spring-loaded Conibear trap snapped shut on her neck, killing her. | Conibear | Anchorage Daily News, 03/09/05 |
| 03/04/05 | Dog Sam | Survived leg broken | Fair Grove, MO A 78-year-old man was charged with felony animal abuse after baiting a steel trap with a dead cow to catch a neighbor's dog. The dog was released by his caregiver and taken to the vet to have his broken leg set in cast. The man who set the trap said that he had pulled a dead cow to the back side of his property and dumped it next to his fence line. He tied some traps on the cow. He said the people who live in the trailer park, near the backside of his land, let their dogs roam free, he believed one of the dogs from the trailer park killed his cow. The man said it did not matter because he had the right to kill any dog he finds on his property. He said he knew the dead cow would cause the dogs to come onto his property. He wanted to trap all of the dogs running loose, and then he would kill them. He also said the sheriff's department doesn't scare him, and he will continue to kill any dogs he finds on his property. | Leghold | Webster County Citizen, 03/17/05 |
| 03/00/05 | Red fox | Died | Atlantic City, NJ, near Garden State Parkway and Jones Creek Red fox photographed running with a wire snare wrapped around his neck. Fox escaped the object that the snare was anchored to but not the snare itself. On 03/13/05, the fox was found dead. | Snare | The Press of Atlantic City, 03/15/05 |
| 02/26/05 | Cat 2-year-old shorthaired Angus | Injured still unknown if he will not lose his leg | Burnaby, BC, Canada Angus stepped into a leghold trap and was seriously injured. Burnaby PCMP is warning families with young children and pet owners to be careful. The trap was set illegally within city limits | Leghold | CBC News, 03/01/05 |
| 02/07/05 | Dogs 2 English Mastiffs | Died | Cass County, MO Traps were set on a creek in a residential area to capture beaver and otter. The two dogs were trapped instead (very close to their home). When the trapper found the dogs caught in the traps, he shot and killed them. | Traps set for beaver and otter | www.thekansas citychannel.com |
| 02/00/05 | Dog Black Labrador mix | Survived temporary leg injuries | Wyandotte, MI A dog was walking with his guardian at the Wyandotte Shores Golf Course and was caught by trap placed by city personnel to capture coyotes. | Leghold | The News-Herald, 02/27/05 |
| 02/00/05 | Dog Bear | Died | Big Baddeck, NS, Canada While out riding on a dirt road with a client, a horseranch owner saw her dog, Bear, sniff at a snare baited with a deer carcass, get hooked, and die. "It was probably the most horrifying experience I've ever seen," she said. In Nova Scotia, snares must be about 600 feet from dwellings unless permission is granted by the owner, but traps can be placed on privately owned land without permission unless a notice is posted prohibiting the traps. There's no law governing the distance the traps must be from a road. |
Snare | The Boston Globe, 02/08/05 |
| 01/04/05 | Dogs 2 Labrador retriever puppies | Died | Spicer, MN The Labrador retriever puppies strayed from home and were caught and killed in raccoon traps. The trapper who found them buried the bodies so it would like the dogs were stolen, on the assumption that the children who loved the dogs might be comforted if they thought the dogs were stolen and therefore still alive. | "Raccoon" traps | Associated Press |
| 01/00/05 | Dog German Shepherd 8-year-old female Zoe | Survived | Palmer, AK Along an angler's path off the Old Glenn Highway, Zoe caught her head in a Conibear 330 trap baited with half a salmon. Zoe's head was engulfed and the heavy ruff at her neck crushed. A man muscled open the trap to free Zoe, and his sister, Zoe's caregiver, administered CPR. Zoe survived. Although the trap was set legally, it was not set ethically, being buried under a scum of dead leaves on the trail. | Conibear | Anchorage Daily News, 04/11/05 |
| c. 12/25/04 | Dog Great Pyrenees, white, male Tio | Died shot by a trapper | Victor, MT A couple who had permission from their neighboring landowner to run their dogs on the land. But a man who lives in the area, who has permission to trap coyotes as predators on land north of the couple's, shot Tio when the dog was caught in one of his traps at least two miles from the couple's house. He had seen Tio chasing livestock, he said, bunching up cows against a fence corner. He would have shot Tio if he had seen him running, too, he said. "It's their fault," the man said in a phone interview, "because that dog was chasing cows." The deputy county attorney assigned to the case said he couldn't think of a law the trapper would have violated. "The guy clearly has a civil case against him," he said. "But whether any law was violated is very unclear." He has never seen a case like this, he said, of a trapper shooting a dog he caught. The local county Dog Ordinance prohibits dogs from being "at large," he said. "I'm not trying to pick on these people," he said. "But their dog was at large." The couple said Tio was on land they had permission to walk and run their dogs on. They say that the trapper didn't have to tell them that he hadn't seen their dog while they searched for four days at Christmas. And he didn't have to shoot Tio twice in the top of the head for getting caught in his trap. "I realize we maybe put our dogs in harm's way," said one of Tio's guardians. "But we didn't shoot them. We didn't pull the trigger." | Unknown | Missoulian, 02/09/05 |
| 12/22/04 | Dog Bull | Died | Swan Creek Road off Gallatin Canyon, near Big Sky, MT A man let his dog, Bull, out of the car to run for exercise. When Bull failed to return, the man followed his tracks and found him "fatally caught in a snare trap." The trap was legally set. | Snare | Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 01/09/05 |
| 12/16/04 | Dog Rottweiler 4-year-old Brutus | Died | 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. | Unspecified; probably a small conibear or leghold | Vancouver Sun, 12/17/04; City of Port Coquitlam Press Release, 12/17/04 |
| 12/10/04 | Cat Cuddles | Died | Waialae Nui, HI A family found a neighbors 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. | Leghold | The Honolulu Advertiser, 12/10/04 |
| 12/05/04 | Dog Jack Russell Terrier Olie Olson | Died | Belleville, WI Olie ran into a Conibear trap during a walk. Once the man noticed Olie was missing it took him 3 to 4 minutes to find the dog in the grass. Olie could not emit any sound because the trap had such a tight grasp around his neck and body. The man struggled to remove the dog for about 5 minutes but it was too late. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 12/00/04 | Dog | Unknown | Richmond, PE, Canada 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. | Snare | The Journal-Pioneer, 12/31/04 |
| 12/00/04 | Black bear cub | Survived released | Legonier Valley, PA A high school junior reported catching a 60-pound black bear cub a trap set for fox. After hearing snarling noises in the woods behind his home, he found the bear in the trap and called the Pennsylvania Game Commission, who came to the scene and tranquilized the bear and released it into the woods. (2 or 3 bear cubs are caught by traps every year in Pennsylvania.) | Unknown | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 12/19/04 |
| 12/00/04 | Dog basset hound 5-year-old Levi | Died | Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, VT Levi was killed by a conibear trap set in the refuge and baited with a muskrat carcass. Officials from Vermonts Fish and Game Department unapologetically told Levis caregiver that the trap was set legally and that she should not have allowed her dog to be without a leash. | Conibear | St. Albans Messenger, 12/18/04 |
| 12/00/04 | Dog Siberian husky Bali | Died | Dubuque, IA 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. | Conibear | Telegraph Herald, 12/07/04 |
| 11/30/04 | Dog Bernese Swiss hound Shiela | Died | Chassell, MI 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. | Snare | The Daily Mining Gazette, 12/22/04 |
| 11/28/04 | Dog | Survived | NM A woman walking her dog on BLM land witnessed the animal stepping into a leghold trap. The trap caught the dogs foot and the woman tried for several minutes to pry the dog free. The woman gave up on prying open the trap and dug up the trap from the ground and drove the trapped dog about 30 minutes to a vet. It was there that the dog was released and has recovered from the incident. | Leghold | Rio Grande Sierra Club |
| 11/24/04 | Dog Shepherd mix, female Pivo | Died | Grand Marais/Newberry, MI Camping at the Blind Sucker State Campground during deer hunting season, Pivo's caregivers were very careful to be wearing orange, even on the dog. Pivo wandered approximately 40 feet from the designated campsite. She tripped, but was not hurt by, a leg trap, but five minutes later she found the Conibear trap that killed her. There were no tags on the traps and both were lying on the ground and set. Pivo's caregivers were unable to remove the trap from her neck before she was asphyxiated within minutes. | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 11/15/04 | Dog Malamute Hakata Sioux | Survived bruised | Brookings, SD A dog was caught in a Conibear trap in an abandoned lane near the family's rural residence. Although Hakata Sioux was trapped for 30 minutes, she was rescued in time to suffer no more than bruises and "emotional trauma." | Conibear | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 11/10/04 | Dog Brittany Spaniel Ginger | Died | Lowell, MI 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. | Unspecified; probably a small Conibear or leghold | www.woodtv.com, 12/08/04; Grand Rapids Press, 12/07/04 |
| 11/00/04 | Dog | Survived leg amputated | Maquoketa, IA Jackson County Sheriffs Department found a dog caught in a leghold in rural Maquoketa. The dogs leg eventually was amputated. | Leghold | Telegraph Herald, 12/07/04 |
| 10/00/04 | Dog 6-year-old | Unknown | WI A dog was caught by a Conibear trap set on private property without the landowners permission. The dog belonged to the landowner. The trapper was cited for trespassing by the sheriffs department, but was not charged with any violation of trapping regulations by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources since the trap set was set legally. | Conibear | The Trapper and Predator Caller, 12/04 |
| 08/00/04 | Great horned owl | Survived | Fredonia, WI A great horned owl that had been injured in a steel-jaw leghold trap was brought to the Pine View Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center. | Leghold | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 09/04/04 |
| 08/00/04 | Dog | Died | New Paltz, NY A family dog was killed by a beaver trap set by a local property owner to deal with beavers on his land. No signs had been posted on his property to warn people about the traps. After a campaign by local anti-trapping activists, the New Paltz Village Board voted unanimously to approve a new law to restrict the use of lethal traps to deal with nuisance animals. | Beaver trap | Daily Freeman, 09/02/04 |
| 08/00/04 | Dog German Shepherd | Survived | Midland, MI A German Shepherd was caught by a steel-jaw leghold trap set on its owners neighbors property. The neighbor admitted to the owner that he had found the dog and left the animal in the trap for 36 hours without notifying anybody or giving him food or water. After the owner rescued her dog, he began to develop gangrene from his injuries. After veterinary care and antibiotics, the dog eventually recovered. The incident was reported to local animal control officers, who said it was beyond their control to take action against the neighbor who set the trap. | Leghold | private correspondence to The Humane Society of the United States, 08/05/04 |
| 07/27/04 | Coyote | Survived missing limb | Santa Fe, NM A female coyote was found with a trap attached to her leg which was only hanging on by a small amount of skin. A State Game & Fish officer helped to rescue the coyote by removing the trap. The coyote survived but with only 3 limbs. | Leghold | Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club |
| 04/16/04 | Dog Blue Heeler | Survived | Gila Forest, NM A dog was caught in a trap while visiting the forest with caretakers. Dog was taken to the vet. Trap was not marked and there were no signs indicating that traps were set in the area. | Leghold | Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club |
| 04/11/04 | Dog | Survived | NM A dog stepped in leghold trap and was taken to the vet and treated for injuries to the foot. | Leghold | Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club |
| 04/00/04 | Great horned owl | Euthanized due to extensive injuries | Osoyoos, BC, Canada A farmer intentionally set traps for owls in attempts to protect chickens neighbors called the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls after they spotted a Great Horned Owl floundering in a trap on the farm. | Leghold | CBC News, 04/07/04 |
| 04/00/04 (found) |
Lynx | Survived lost front leg to trap | Bowron Lakes Provincial Park, BC, Canada A wildlife photographers dog found front leg of a lynx in the woods near the park. The foot likely had been chewed off by the lynx in an attempt to escape a steel-jaw leghold trap, which are set in large numbers in the lands surrounding the boundaries of the park. | Leghold | C.A.S.H. Courier (newsletter of the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting), Summer 2004 |
| 03/00/04 | Bald eagle | Survived missing leg and talon | Long Beach Peninsula, OR 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. | Leghold | Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast Newsletter, 03/04 |
| 02/24/04 | 2 beagles | Survived 1 hind leg amputated | Lenoir County, NC 2 beagles were dropped in the overnight box at a animal shelter after being caught in leghold traps. | Leghold | Lenoir County SPCA Kinston, NC, via email |
| 02/00/04 | Dog 6-year-old Booper | Died | Spearfish, SD Booper died when he ran into wire snare set for bobcat in Game Production Area Game, Fish and Parks Department stated that there is a big misconception by a segment of the public that these wildlife areas are parks while explaining why the location of traps are not marked to warn visitors | Snare | Rapid City Journal (SD), 02/23/04 |
| 02/00/04 | Red-tailed hawk | Died | OR A red-tailed hawk was found caught in a leghold trap. His leg bone and flesh were severed. Oregon State police fined the guilty party for not having proper permits for the trap and for improperly baiting the trap. | Leghold | Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast Newsletter, 02/04 |
| 01/20/04 | Dog 8-year-old female Chinese sharpei | Died shot by setter of trap | Ravenna, MI 8-year-old female Chinese sharpei was caught by a snare on 01/20/04 set on the rural property of her owners neighbor, a county sheriffs deputy. The neighbor, upon finding the trapped dog, then shot and disposed of the pet. A warrant was issued charging the neighbor with one count of killing a licensed dog. | Snare | Grand Rapids Press, 02/12/04 (reported by HSUS) |
| 01/17/04 | Lynx male (endangered) | Alive released | Normanna Township, MN A few miles north of Duluth, an endangered lynx, No. 10, was caught in a snare set for a fox. Killing a lynx is a federal offense. The trapper called a local conservation officer who notified the U.S. Forest Service. Wildlife researchers took the wildcat to the Duluth Zoo, where a vet proclaimed him fit and the researchers promptly re-released him near where he had been trapped | Snare | Duluth News- Tribune, 01/17/04 |
| 01/11/04 | Human 16-year-old female | Unharmed | Webster Parish, LA A 16-year-old girl was caught by the foot in a trap set for beaver. The girl was wearing lace-up boots and was caught on the heel. She escaped without injury | Conibear | Shreveport Times, 01/11/04 |
| 01/04/04 | Dog Yellow lab, Holden | Died | Ft. Olgethorpe, GA The dog was killed at the scene. Holdens guardians reported, We struggled to release the trap but it was too late ... He died in our arms and I saw fear in his eyes. I will never get that image out of my mind. | Conibear | APIs Non-Target Trapping Incident Form |
| 01/00/04 | Dog German Shepherd 2-year-old female | Survived | Grant County, NM A dog was caught in a steel-jaw leghold trap set in the Burro Mountains while on a walk with her caretaker. The trap was set about 200 feet from her home. The caretaker was unable to remove the trap herself, so with the dog dragging the trap along, they headed back to her home. The caretaker eventually sought help from her neighbor in removing the trap. The dog suffered from swelling and bruising but eventually recovered. | Leghold | Silver City Daily Press, 07/14/04 |
| 2004 | Bald eagle | Survived lost leg | Long Beach Peninsula, OR An eagle with missing leg and talon was brought to the Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast. 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. | Leghold | Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast newsletter #10, March 2004 |
| 12/30/03 | Wolf male | Alive released | ID A male wolf with ear-tags was captured in a leghold trap set for coyotes. The trapper called U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Idaho. The same wolf had been accidentally captured and released previously (12/19/03) also by a leghold trap. | Leghold | Associated Press, 12/30/03 |
| 12/20/03 | Dog basset hound, Suzy | Died | New Athens, IL or OH Suzy was not more than half-mile from her home by a lake, when she was caught in a snare placed illegally and without her guardian and the land-owners permission. Suzy suffered for 2 hours before she died. | Conibear | APIs Non-Target Trapping Incident Form, 01/09/04 |
| 12/17/03 | Dog chocolate Labrador | Died | PE, Canada A dog wandering in the caretakers neighborhood walked into a snare that had been baited with the head of a pig. The snare had been set to catch coyotes. | Snare | Canada.com News Network |
| 12/12/03 | Dog Monty | Survived but badly scarred | Charlottetown, PE, Canada Monty was caught in a snare trap for 5 days but survived. He now has a scar that goes all the way around his neck from where the snare cut into him like a knife. | Snare | APIs Non-Target Trapping Incident Form, 11/28/05 |
| 12/07/03 | Dog 2-year-old female black lab, Smokey Bear | Survived | Lacey, WA On the familys regular visit to a small patch of wilderness near Lacey, Smokey swallowed a barbed hook, baited with meat and wrapped about a pile of wood. She couldnt move because the hook was embedded in her throat. The baited hooks were set for a coyote bait station and are legal in Washington. | Snare | Star Bulletin (Seattle, WA), 10/29/03 |
| 12/05/03 | Mountain lion 2- or 3-year-old female | Died | Crow Peak, SD West of Crow Peak, a trapper found a dead mountain lion in one of his snares, set for coyotes. A game warden of South Dakota Dept. of Game, Fish & Park says they see snared mountain lions maybe a couple a year. | Snare | Black Hills Pioneer (Spearfish, SD), 12/05/03 |
| 12/00/03 | Dog mixed breed, female Belle | Survived swelling, bruising | Newton, IL On the edge of a cornfield in pathway, Belle's foot was caught in a Conibear 220 trap. Her caregiver stood on the triggers, pushed down, and released her. | Conibear 220 | BanCruelTraps Non-Target Animal Trapping Incident Report Form |
| 12/00/03 | Dog 4-year-old female Black Labrador retriever Menodae | 20 lbs lighter, worn teeth, left eye swollen shut, wounds around neck that cut into her windpipe | Northern ON, Canada A Black Labrador retriever survived 19 days in the bush with a wire snare digging into her neck. She was 20 pounds lighter and her teeth were worn down from gnawing at the retraining snare. Her veterinarian estimated that the snare was on the dogs neck for three days, but somehow the dog made it home. | Snare | Black Hills Pioneer (Spearfish, SD), 12/05/03; Toronto Star, 01/22/04 |
| 11/21/03 | Dog Great Dane | Survived swelling, cuts, and bruising | Sizerville State Park, PA A dog was in the trap for an estimated 18 hours. | Leghold | Humane Society Trapping Case Report |
| 11/03/03 | Dog red-haired golden retriever, Dudley | Emaciated, dehydrated, paw swollen to size of a softball | NB, Canada Dudleys right front paw was clamped in a steel trap for 5 days after he went exploring with another dog, Max, near his 30-acre home. Neighbor boys found the near-dead dog 5 days later on an island on the dry Republican River and carried him to safety. After several weeks the sores on the front and back of his leg are healing, but he still walks with a noticeable limp. | Leghold | McCook Daily Gazette (Republican River, NB), 12/11/03 |
| 11/00/03 | Bobcat | Died | Cedar Rapids, IA A bobcat was found in a snare set for raccoons, northwest of Kalona. | Snare | Associated Press, 11/15/03 |
| 10/03/03 | Grey wolf and pups | Released | Boise, ID 2 trappers freed a grey wolf they caught in a coyote trap, after the USDA Wildlife Services placed a radio collar on the wolf. The same trappers also caught wolf pups in their coyote traps in 2002 and released them. | Coyote | Associated Press, 11/03/03 |
| 10/00/03 | Dog pregnant mixed-breed | Survived | Maui, HI A dog was caught in 1 of the 19 snares placed in Upcountry Maui to try and capture large cat believed to be jaguar or leopard. After being released, the dog had 9 puppies. | Snare | Star Bulletin (Wailuku, HI), 10/29/03 |
| 10/00/03 | Cat | Died | Gainesville, FL A 62-year-old man was charged with felony animal cruelty for hanging a cat with a snare. The trap was intended to catch raccoons raiding his backyard goldfish ponds. | Snare | Miami Herald, 10/25/03 |
| 10/00/03 | Golden eagle | Died | Southern UT A trapper employed by the federal governments 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. | Leghold | The Salt Lake Tribune, 02/26/04 |
| 09/28/03 | Wolf | Died | Vesper Lake, ON, Canada A radio-collared wolf was part of a study conducted by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources scientists to evaluate the impact of a temporary moratorium on wolf killing in all townships adjacent to Algonquin Park. Researchers discovered that a wire neck snare had slowly killed the wolf, found lying in a pool of blood. | Neck snare | Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (Press Release), 09/28/03 |
| 08/00/03 | Dogs and cats | Died | Atlantic City, NJ Reports of missing pets led police to find a steel leghold trap with a cats paw in it at a mans home. The man was fined $250 for using an illegal trap. | Steel leghold | Press of Atlantic City, 10/30/03 |
| 07/00/03 08/00/03 | Cat and owls | Died | OK 31 residents were charged with violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by using pole-trapping placing a trap on a pole or perch to catch and kill hawks and owls to protect their gamecocks. | Steel-jaw leghold | Daily Oklahoman), 11/05/03 |
| 07/29/03 | Cat 3-year-old male | Leg amputated | AZ A 3-year-old cat was found in a neighborhood yard dragging a leghold trap . The cat suffered 4 severe breaks to his front left leg that was also badly dislocated, likely the result of the cat struggling to free himself, according to the veterinarian. | Steel-jaw leghold | Arizona Humane Society (Press Release), 07/29/03 |
| 07/24/03 | Bear cub | Died | Cody, WY A young grizzly bear died of strangulation after getting caught in a trap intended to catch wolves that were killing livestock in Sunlight Basin. | Neck snare | Billings Gazette, 07/24/03 |
| 06/02/03 | Cat adult female, Ella | Survived left rear leg amputated | Charlottesville, VA Found with her kitten in a trailer park, Ella had suffered the traumatic loss of the leg while escaping the trap. The injury had scarred over, but she was treated by a veterinarian because she neglected her health to take care of her kitten. The trap owner was never found. (This correspondent also reported: "Another incident happened long ago in Falls Church, VA but it was unforgettable; a dog named Ruby had her tongue severed by a steel-jaw trap. She recovered and adapted to life without a tongue." | Probably leghold | BanCruelTraps online incident report form |
| 06/00/03 | Grizzly bear adult male | Released died 15 days later | Canada Intentionally captured for a long-term conservation project, the bear was restrained in leg snare for as long as 24 hours before being anesthetized, marked, and released. Soon after he was sighted dead by helicopter. | Leg snare | Wildlife Health Centre Newsletter (Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre), Fall 2003 |
| 05/30/03 | Dog Golden Retriever | Survived | Burro Mountains, NM Accompanied by her 2 dogs, a woman went riding her horse. One dog got caught in a trap in a canyon. The woman was unable to remove trap from her dogs leg and could not break the chain the trap was attached to. The dog thrashed wildly when the woman attempted to leave for help, so she stayed with the dog and released the horse to return home as a distress signal. Help finally arrived and the dog was taken to the vet. | Leghold | Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club |
| 02/00/03 | Wolf female | Died | Vesper Lake, ON, Canada A radio-collared wolf had broken free of the pole or tree holding the snare, but was found lying in a pool of blood. | Wire snare | Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (Ottawa), 09/28/03 |
| 01/11/03 | Lynx male | Died | Helena, MT A radio-collared male lynx got caught in a conibear set for wolverine and was found dead by a warden and a lynx research team. | Conibear (330) | FOIA request, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks records |
| 01/08/03 | Bobcat | Died | Cedar Rapids, IA A 30-pound bobcat was found dead caught in a snare set for coyotes near the citys water treatment plant. This was the first confirmed bobcat seen in Linn County since the 19th century when the animals were wiped out from most parts of Iowa. | Snare | Associated Press State and Local Wire |
| 01/04/03 | 2 wolves Storm and Yukon | Died | Bow Valley, BC, Canada A trapper legally killed a 9-year-old alpha male and his 2-year-old son outside Banff National Park. Researchers studying the original Bow Valley wolf colony were monitoring the wolves. After the trapping of Storm and Yukon, the long-established pack was reduced to 2 wolves: a young female and her 8-month-old pup. | Unknown | Canada.com News Network, 01/16/03 |
| 2003 | Kittens and cats | 1 died, 1 euthanized, rest injured | Tucson, AZ Cats and kittens were left in 2 rabbit cages outside the Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter. Along with the live injured cats, there was the partially-skinned head of a cat. 1 kittens injuries were so severe he was euthanized. Another had his tail and feet amputated. The cats all looked like they had been captured by leghold traps. | Leghold | KOLD-TV News 13, 2003 |
| 12/30/02 | Dog Labrador-Shepherd cross, Jake | Died | Pitt River, BC, Canada 2 women walking their dogs on a gravel path near the Pitt River let their dogs off leash to run around. One dog was caught in a conibear trap lured with steak and a duck, and died at the scene. The trap was set illegally. | Conibear | Vancouver Sun, 12/30/02 |
| 12/09/02 | 2 cats tiger-striped tabby & white Siamese, both wild, fed regularly by human couple | Died 1 crushed by spring trap, the other strangled by a snare | Virginia Beach, VA (near Airport Industrial Park) A man who had been catching foxes in the traps assured the couple that the traps were set high enough off the ground that they wouldnt harm the cats. | Conibear, Snare | Virginia-Pilot, 12/10/02 |
| 10/08/02 | Cat female tabby-calico mix, named Lucky Lady Miracle Cat by shelter workers | Bruised neck taken to shelter where 2 people could pry trap off Luckys neck | Plymouth, IN Found by workers at a dental office. | Conibear | South Bend Tribune (IN), 10/11/02 |
| 08/10/02 | Dog male, Sammy | Died caught by leg and had to be shot | About 25 miles NW of Stanley, ID, near the River of No Return Wilderness Sammy was caught in a trap set for wolf. | Leghold steel w/teeth | Idaho Statesman, 08/13/02 |
| 04/10/02 | Child 13-year-old human male | Severe bruising pincer marks and abraded skin on right ankle |