Search Trapping Incidents Database

A man and his 11-year-old son were walking their golden retriever, Toby, when the dog wandered off their property and put his head inside a box that contained the trap. The trap snapped shut and decapitated the dog. The unmarked trap was baited with bacon and illegally placed only 2 inches inside the box; state law requires the traps to be set back at least 12 inches. Another dog was killed by the same trap and its carcass was discarded nearby. The owner of the second dog hasn’t been located. The trapper could face up to eight misdemeanor charges for various violations.

Cynthia may have been in the trap for as long as two days. “By the time she made it home the leg was cold, oozing, and had a terrible smell. She also had a raging infection and fever. The foot was horribly swollen and had an obvious crush across the paw.” The left front leg had to be amputated. The incident was reported but the trap owner was not charged with a violation.

A dog on his usual trail was caught in a leghold trap. The dog died quickly after being trapped as the ground was undisturbed, with a minimal mark on leg from the trap. Rufus died from head trauma — either hit his own head (unlikely) or was hit in the head by someone. The trapper had placed 75 traps around a subdivision in the Gila National Forest. The incident was reported to Game & Fish and to local law enforcement. The trap owner was found and charged with failure to check traps in 24 hours.

A wolf was reported caught in a coyote snare in the East Fork of the Bitterroot in MT. MFWP warden and wolf staff responded and found a male gray pup from the East Fork pack with its right front leg entwined in the snare. The rest of the pack was howling nearby and based on the condition of the animal it was not thought to have been in the snare very long. The pup was collared and released. Upon recovery the pup moved off quickly and seemed to be regaining feeling and use of the injured leg. On a monitoring flight on the 21st the collar was on mortality. Holder (MFWP) followed up on the morning of the 22nd and found the dead wolf. It will be sent to the lab for necropsy.”

A golden eagle was found with a conibear trap on one of its legs in a grove of trees in Clinton, near Missoula, on Friday afternoon. The raptor apparently carried it for several days over an unknown distance before it was grounded with a mangled leg. The trap also did not have a tag with the trapper’s name, which is required by law. State authorities said the trap appeared to have been set by an inexperienced trapper, a poacher or someone trying to trap a nuisance dog or cat, which also is illegal. The bird was a healthy adult male weighing about 8 pounds, but its leg was injured beyond repair by the weight of the 3-pound trap.

Rascal was last seen by family members walking down the driveway on January 8. When he returned nearly a week later, he had a wire embedded in his abdomen and was suffering from exposure and severe frostbite to his paws. Authorities believe the wire is part of a snare and that Rascal survived by chewing the wire apart. It will take another 6–8 weeks of care and rest before Rascal’s wounds heal completely. The legality of the snare trap is unknown.

White-Tailed fawn was caught in a cable restraint left in a forest for other wildlife. Fawn died as a result.

A woman was walking her dog, Fi, near the rail trail by the Ainsdale Golf Course in the middle of the afternoon. She let Fi loose to run free in a field near a wooded area, about 100 meters from the trail. “The next thing I heard was her screaming and jumping around with a trap on her head,” she said. She ran over to Fi, who was flailing in pain with the trap crushing her muzzle and throat. “Her eyes were bulging and her tongue was out,” she said. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” Unable to open the trap — she cut herself trying — the woman flagged down a passing snowmobiler who was also unable to free the dog. Fi died while still in the trap, so the woman took her to Kincardine Veterinary Clinic to have them remove it. “She died right in front of me. They had to use bolt cutters to get it off of her neck.” She suspects Fi was led to the trap by bait hidden under a white bucket that was found nearby.

A man was walking his dog near the Ainsdale Golf Course when the puppy caught a foreleg in a trap while running free. The man said he was able to get the trap off “after a very major struggle” and that luckily, none of his dog’s bones were broken.

The 150-pound mountain lion was caught in a neck snare meant for bobcats. North Dakota Game and Fish Department personnel said the cougar “pretty much died immediately.”