Search Trapping Incidents Database

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.

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, VT — Levi was killed by a conibear trap set in the refuge and baited with a muskrat carcass. Officials from Vermont’s Fish and Game Department unapologetically told Levi’s caregiver that the trap was set legally and that she should not have allowed her dog to be without a leash.

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.

Wai’alae Nui, HI — A family found a neighbor’s 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.

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.

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.

Maquoketa, IA — Jackson County Sheriff’s Department found a dog caught in a leghold in rural Maquoketa. The dog’s leg eventually was amputated.

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.

dog was caught by a Conibear trap set on private property without the landowner’s permission. The dog belonged to the landowner. The trapper was cited for trespassing by the sheriff’s 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.

A woman walking her dog on BLM land witnessed the animal stepping into a leghold trap. The trap caught the dog’s 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.