#StandAgainstSnaring

THE STATE OF SNARING AND TRAPPING:

• Alabama, Arizona, Claifornia, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia have banned snaring as a form of trapping.

• A state-by-state comparison and report card of trapping and snare laws and prohibitions can be found here.

• Over 125 nations have banned or restricted leg-hold traps - but not the United States.  (Sourced from the Law Library of Congress)

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WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ANIMALS IN SNARES?

• Animals often sustain severe injuries from being trapped. If not killed outright by the trap, animals can suffer physical trauma, dehydration, starvation, exposure to inclement weather, and predation by other animals while alive and immobilized. 

• Snares are especially cruel and inhumane in that the animal suffocates slowly and suffers brain swelling because circulation is stopped by the choking action of the snare. 

• Trapped animals are most frequently clubbed or suffocated to death, as bullet holes and blood stains reduce the pelt's value for the trapper to sell.

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POLICIES AND LAWS OF SNARING AND TRAPPING:

• Steel-jaw leghold traps are the most commonly used trap in the U.S. by commercial and "recreational" fur trappers. As of August 2016, more than 100 countries have banned or severely restricted the use of steel-jaw leg-hold traps.

• The American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association, World Veterinary Association, and the National Animal Control Association have all declared leghold traps to be inhumane.

• When they exist, trapping regulations vary widely between states and are often poorly enforced or generally ignored by law enforcement. Most states have few restrictions on the types of traps that can be used, the number of animals that can be trapped, or how trapped animals are to be killed.

• Many states have no laws requiring that traps be checked on a regular basis, and animals can be left to starve to death if the trapper chooses not to check the trap or forgets its location.

• In Minnesota, trappers are allowed to set traps on private property without the land owner’s permission. Properties must be posted with the correct language to prevent this usurpation of private land use.

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Thanks to Born Free USA for sharing this information on trapping and snaring, along with these references and relevant facts.