Search Trapping Incidents Database

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.

Washington, VT – A dog was killed in a 10-inch kill trap set for bobcats. The trapper was found to be in violation of laws requiring that kill traps larger than 8 inches be set at least five feet off the ground.

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.

Two separate foxes were found confined to a trap. “It’s definitely more [often than] we would typically see in that time frame.” As the animals tried to get free, their injuries got worse. Once they were found, they required surgery and care. One fox is set to be released within the next week or so.

MISSOULA – Individuals have been cited after a dog was caught in an illegal trap in Missoula and died.  The pup was caught in a trap on Hiberta Street, near the Clark Fork River on Sunday night, and did not survive. The two men set multiple traps within city limits, which is illegal, and were cited by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) and Missoula Animal Control.

CHEYENNE, WY – Poppy, a mixed breed Labrador, was trapped in a leghold trap near a parking lot on public lands in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Pole Mountain Unit. The trap broke a bone in her foot, requiring her to wear a cast for six weeks. Poppy and her owner were hiking when she was trapped in a steel leghold trap as they approached a “distributed” campground at the end of road 712AA. High winds and a snowstorm made it difficult to find her. Her owner finally heard her screams above the wind. The trap was above ground, by a log, and marked with what appeared to be a crow wing dangling from a branch above the trap. After freeing her crushed foot from the trap, her owner carried her in a sling made from her orange vest a mile and a half in the snowstorm back to the car and then took her to a veterinarian. When the cast came off, Poppy was able to walk and soon run on her injured foot. The veterinarian warned that there was a possibility that she would develop arthritis in her left foot due to the trauma she experienced from the trap. The examinations, care, and follow-up visits resulted in bills totaling over $500.