Search Trapping Incidents Database

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.

Wyoming Game and Fish department staff discovered a dead grizzly bear in one of the agency’s baited traps early Sept. 30 — a first-of-its-kind capture-related fatality that nevertheless sparked dismay among conservationsts and other bear advocates. Trappers found the 326-pound, approximately 7-year-old male grizzly dead in a box trap at the Shoshone Lodge outside the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Troy police say a resident was walking his dog in Beach Road Park, which is a city park, around 2 p.m. on May 16 when the dog stepped on a trap and got his leg caught. The dog’s owner located several other traps set in the area and set them off so other dogs or people would not be caught. He was able to free his dog from the trap and the dog was expected to be fine.