Non-Target Trapping Incidents
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of "non-target" animals fall victim to indiscriminate body-gripping traps each year in the U.S. alone. Leghold traps, snares, and Conibear kill-traps are especially dangerous when used in high-use areas such as urban/suburban neighborhoods and recreational hiking areas frequented by people, children, and domestic animals.
Raptors, waterfowl, and threatened and endangered species can fall prey to body-gripping traps — but rarely are such non-target captures reported. For example, the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota reported that a large percentage of the bald eagles admitted to the center are injured as a result of having been incidentally caught in leghold traps.
Most state wildlife agencies do not require that trappers report the non-target animals they trap, so the total number of animals trapped each year and the fate of individually caught animals is unknown. Born Free USA united with API maintains a list of reported cases from media reports and anecdotal evidence of animals that are caught and injured or killed incidentally in body-gripping traps. This information is vital to demonstrate to policy makers that these traps are dangerous and need to be restricted.
It is also important to document any incidents with photographs. Stories and photos in your local paper are especially important as they add credibility to the incident. Please send copies of any newspaper articles and photos — please make sure they are dated correctly — to:
Trapping Incident
c/o Born Free USA united with API
P.O. Box 22505
Sacramento, CA 95822
