Search Trapping Incidents Database

An animal rights group is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest after a 5-month-old coyote became ensnared in an illegal trap in Swampscott, Massachusetts, and had to be euthanized. The coyote was found emaciated with a broken jaw days after getting caught in a Duke #160 Trap, which is illegal in Massachusetts, near Tedesco Country Club. Officials say wild coyotes frequent the area.

A golfer first spotted the animal with the trap on his face, Animal Control Officer Dan Proulx said Wednesday. The young male coyote suffered for about a week after getting caught in the trap and wandered the woods until was he tracked down by Proulx.

After being illegally snared, a black bear was set free last week. Law officials are now asking the public for any information that could help them identify the person or people involved with this incident. Josh Carver, conservation officer for the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources, told St. George News that the DWR received a report of a trapped bear in an area known as Grass Point or Upper Basin on Cedar Mountain. Someone had driven by and seen the trapped bear and called it in.

UTAH – The Great Pyrenees Rescue in Montana is caring for and rehabilitating a Great Pyrenees that was severely injured from a leg-hold trap. They did not see the dog caught in the trap, but the young man who found him and the vet the dog was taken to both believe the injury was caused by a trap.

The dog (we are calling him River) had lost almost all of the toes to a front foot. X-rays that were taken and revealed that the best option to give River a great quality life was to amputate the entire leg due to infection throughout it.

Bourne, MA – A red fox was caught in a trap for several days. The fox was discovered by a nearby homeowner when they came across the fox caught in the trap. Due to leg-hold traps being illegal in Massachusetts, the incident was reported. The fox was able to be corralled to a small den on the boarder of the property, where it was then transported to a wildlife veterinary hospital for care. The wounds had become infected and necrotic and the fox was septic. Unfortunately, due to the severity of the injuries and the dire state of the fox, it had to be euthanized.

RURAL TENNESSEE – A 12 week old great pyrenees puppy named Maggie, was caught in a leg-hold trap in rural Tennessee. The owner lives in a very rural area of Tennessee on a farm which backs up to a wooded area, and where people often set traps for coyotes. The owner states that Maggie got out of the contained area where she was kept and was missing for a day or two before she returned home with the injured paw and leg.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Wild animals in Virginia Beach are being harmed, and in some cases their injuries are fatal. Animal Control says they are now investigating animal cruelty cases after illegal traps were set across the city.

The most recent incident happened on February 5 on Cheswick Lane. Virginia Beach Animal Control and Virginia Beach Fire Department Ladder Truck 7 found a raccoon dangling from a tree branch. His leg was confined to a trap, and the trap links were caught on a limb.

Lisa Barlow, President of Tidewater Rehabilitation and Environmental Education, said when they reached the animal in the tree, he was only about 10 lbs, when a raccoon of his size and age typically weighs around 20 lbs. She estimates he was suffering for about a week.

A dog was caught in a leg-hold trap in Hidden Creek Park in Mechanicsburg, PA. The dog was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic, where it received treatment including pain medication, but was deemed to have escaped major damage. It happened in Hidden Creek Park, a township-owned property along the Conodoguinet and just north of the shopping plaza that includes Wegman’s and Target.

The Hurds live in rural Idaho with their dog Whiskey. Alan has a trapping license, and he and his wife Laurie do not question the state’s trapping laws and regulations. But, they do question one specific trap type in which their dog, Whiskey, died. On the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 11 Laurie and Whiskey drove to Road Creek, off East Fork Road, to go on a walk. It was a site they chose that day “for a change of pace,” from their frequent walking spots in Spar Canyon. At one point during the walk Whiskey headed a short distance off the road into the willows. Soon afterward, Laurie heard a loud snap and her dog whimpering and crying. She knew it was the sound of a snare closing and immediately knew her dog was caught in it.

DARTMOUTH, MA – A great horned owl was found by an officer from the Dartmouth, MA animal control department, after she received a call about a large bird struggling in the woods. She arrived on scene and quickly realized that the owl had been ensnared in a leg trap. The owl suffered severe musculo-skeletal trauma after its foot was caught in a leg trap. Leg traps are illegal in Massachusetts and were officially banned in 1997.

Karen Zoller and her beloved dog Mac went for a jog on January 4, 2020 on a trail they had run many times before. Mac wandered slightly off the trail and Zoller watched as his body flipped to the ground. Mac had walked into a neck snare meant to trap bobcats and coyotes, among other wildlife. Zoller struggled with the wire, but it would not budge and Mac died from his injuries on the trail, in Zoller’s arms.