Dogs will still be killed in traps set for the unnecessary fur trade under new regulations proposed by the Department of Environmental Conservation yesterday, and the agency needs to either ban body-crushing kill-type traps and other dangerous traps on land, implement trap-free buffer zones around trails, or allow counties the options to do it themselves, says The Humane Society of the United States.
"It's outrageous that the DEC would propose regulations that they admit would leave small dogs—like terriers—at risk of injury or death, just so trappers can continue to cause suffering to wildlife in order to put fur trim on jackets," said Dora Schomberg, New York program coordinator for The Humane Society of the United States. "If the DEC won't protect pets and wildlife from these dangerous and cruel traps, they need to let counties do it themselves."
The DEC's proposal would require that many body-crushing traps be either elevated, or recessed in bucket-type sets for the purpose of reducing the number of dogs who will be killed by fur trappers. However, the proposal, printed in the May 30 New York State Register admits that "a very small dog, however, may still be vulnerable to capture, injury, or death." The HSUS will submit formal comments on the proposed regulations.
The HSUS continues to urge Senator Joseph Bruno (R-43) to pass the "Valentine" bill in the 2007 session, a bill that would allow counties the option of restricting or banning dangerous traps, like the traps covered by these proposed regulations. The Assembly passed the companion bill, A1835, by Assemblyman Alexander Grannis, in the 2006 session.
Facts
- In the last 20 years, The HSUS has received nearly 100 reports of dogs and cats injured or killed by traps in New York. The number is probably much higher since most cases likely go unreported.
- Millions of animals suffer and die, often lingering for days in extreme pain, in fur traps each year in the United States to supply fur and fur trim to the cruel and unnecessary fur trade.
- Body-crushing type traps are landmines for animals, snapping shut on any creatures who haplessly trigger them—wildlife or pets —and are extremely difficult to remove.
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