It’s pretty interesting to see some of the misconceptions and lack of experience surrounding trapping & snaring, and how it fuels an emotional response from some of the members here that I have a lot of respect for. Just like any other group out there, there are some bad apples, in addition to those that simply make a poor decision (whether intentional or not). I get it, some people here have a right to be bitter based on a personal experience where they lost a pet due to someone’s lack of judgement; however, I would suggest it’s best to try to avoid projecting that sentiment on the whole trappping/snaring community. Heck, there are hunters that get shot every year due to mistaken identity, but I think we can all agree that it wouldn’t be a fair to paint the whole hunting community as a bunch of archaic Neanderthals out the shooting each other, thus we must ban the activity all together.
As for trapping and snaring, I’ve done more than my fair share. They are very efficient, effective, and humane management tools when utilized properly. Despite their reputation, they can be very selective through trap size, pan tension, or loop size, lock selection and breakaway device or stop, along with set type and (most importantly) location.
Additionally, I’ve always run my dogs on the trapline as well. They have been caught a few times over the years, and can see how it could upset some people… when a dog gets caught in a trap for the first time it will panic, as it has no idea what just happened and invokes a fight or flight response. Unfortunately, upon seeing this reaction, the owner of the dog tends to panic as well, thinking that their dog is being hurt and needs to take immediate action to save it. This typically overwhelms the dog even more and fuels the flight or flight response…. It’s best to stand near, and calm the dog down for 10 mins before setting it free (most people would have a very different perception of traps if they did this)… if a dog has been through this a time or two, you get a very different response. In the rare occasion that my dogs get caught now, they will just sit down and look at me like they are simply annoyed. Absolutely zero injury.
The reason I mention this, is that traps get a bad wrap due to false preconceptions fueled by a lack of knowledge and experience. They are merely a restraint tool when utilized properly, which is exactly why Wildlife managers still utilize them for capture/collar, relocation, etc (even for some ESA listed species, as well). In fact, one of my favorite ways to demonstrate this to somebody curious or skeptical is to set a trap off on my own hand. It’s honestly no big deal.
Snares run a little higher risk, obviously; however, most dogs that are accustomed to being tied or leash trained will stop prior to being in danger. Here again, it seems a lack of knowledge or experience with snares often leads to panic, when really snares can be opened quickly and with little effort. Honestly, 5 minutes of education on types of snare locks and how they function would save people and their pets a lot of unnecessary grief.
