S.F. 592: Prohibit Trapping and Baiting of Wolves, and Snaring of Wildlife

in Minnesota on February 23, 2015

Bill Description:
This bill prohibits trapping (except for predator control) and baiting wolves. It also prohibits the use of snares on all wild animals.[teaserbreak]

Background:
Trapping
Trapping is a barbaric, antiquated form of hunting. Animals caught in traps suffer immensely from their injuries, long periods of distress, and ultimately die an excruciating death. Many even gnaw off their own limbs in an effort to escape, often dying of a painful infection days later. Archaic killing methods for trapped animals – such as suffocation, drowning and poisoning – are widely used today. Read more on our trapping page.

Many other animals are injured by traps or die as “collateral damage,” including endangered species and family pets. (See our Trapping Incidents Database for more information.) Even one such tragedy is too many, and these types of incidents are sadly all too common.

Snares
Snares are primitive wire nooses that, depending on how they are set, are designed to tighten around an animal’s leg (restraining trap) or neck (kill trap).

While small victims of neck snares may become unconscious in five to ten minutes from strangulation, larger animals may suffer for days. In one study, researchers recommended neck snares not be used in areas with livestock or deer after snares set for coyotes killed 50% of deer accidentally captured. The Federal Provincial Committee on Humane Trapping concluded after years of study that these snares “do not have the potential to consistently produce a quick death.”

Baiting
Contrary to popular belief, baiting and then killing animals is not a useful tool in reducing wildlife-human conflicts. Humans can limit contact with wildlife by eliminating behavior that draws them in. A ban on baiting — whether intentional by hunters or unintentional with garbage — is one of the most sensible ways to ensure a safer distance.

Baiting by hunters damages forests by drawing too much wildlife to a single spot. It also teaches wildlife to take food from humans. Once they’re desensitized to people, the risk of future contact increases.