restrictions for height off the ground or they may be required to be placed deep inside an enclosure . With foothold traps that are meant to restrain an animal , trappers are sometimes limited by jaw size or location on dry-land sets , and a daily trap check is a common mandate . Cage or live traps are also used , but location , mandatory animal removal and daily check requirements are likely to be in place . There are also dog-proof traps , and there ’ s so much on snares they get their own section below .
Extensive trapping regulations are in place not only to protect animal welfare and furbearer populations , but also to balance opportunities for trappers and to ensure public safety . After all that , states may have mandatory annual trapper surveys and a fur buyer ’ s license for dealing pelts . The reality is that trappers are more regulated than anyone else in the woods and waters . Take a peek at any state ’ s trapping regulations and you ’ ll see it ’ s nowhere near a free-for-all .
MYTH 2
Traps are indiscriminate and catch nontargeted animals , including pets , and pose a threat to public safety . While we cannot completely debunk this myth , the reality is much different from the perception that pets , livestock , birds and other wildlife are caught on a regular basis . To bust the lies around bycatch , I spoke with Jeremiah Wood , founder of Trapping Today , a digital media hub for all things trapping .
Wood resides in northern Maine and has been trapping for about 25 years . He ’ s caught everything from weasels , martens and wolverines to beavers and coyotes in the Northwoods of Maine , out West and in Alaska .
Wood mentions bycatch does happen , but there are many efforts in place to avoid it . “ The last thing that we as trappers want to do is to catch a non-target animal ,” he affirms . “ That is a failure . That being said , there are some traps that have the potential to catch non-targets , but the way trappers operate and the ways we are regulated are geared toward minimizing that potential .”
Wood acknowledges that while traps may be somewhat indiscriminate , trappers do everything in their control to reduce bycatch . This starts with knowing the intended animal ’ s behaviors , habitat and movements . Even novice trappers have enough knowledge to choose a proper style and size of trap for the game they ’ re hoping to catch . Other considerations include the location and timing of where and when traps are set and using specific methods for targeting specific species .
Wood further sorts through the issue by talking about how the two most common traps are used strategically , and he starts with body-gripping traps . These traps are typically required by law to be set in or under the water , where they ’ re commonly used to catch beavers , otters and muskrats . “ Those are great for their ability to dispatch an animal quickly , but they are not great if you catch a non-target animal because you cannot
Become Trap-Wise with Your Hunting Dog
With overlapping seasons , there ’ s always a chance — be it a very minimal one — that your hunting dog may become caught in a trap . The first and most important part of remedying this situation is education . Learning how to operate a foothold , body grip , and snare will not just come in handy , it might save your dog ’ s life .
Act Fast on Body-Grip Traps Clay Creech emphasizes the odds of a dog being caught in a body grip are low , but education is the key to preventing a tragedy . “ It would be very beneficial for dog owners to learn how to release a dog from a body grip where time is of the essence ,” he affirms . He suggests getting to know the trapping seasons where you plan to hunt and to attend a trapping convention to get your hands on a body-gripper to learn how they operate so you can quickly release your dog if he were to get caught . He points dog owners to YouTube in the meantime , where they can find videos and stepby-step instructions on how to release a dog from this type of trap .
Freeing Up a Foothold Catching a paw in a foothold will not likely lead to anything more than a slight delay and a good story back at camp . Jeremiah Wood notes there are many variations to these traps , but in general , a foothold will have one or two levers that need to be pushed down to open the jaws to free your dog ’ s paw . There ’ s not as much urgency here , but have a buddy lend a hand to restrain your dog or throw your coat to cover their head and push those levers open and get back to hunting .
“ As long as dog owners know what to do , it ’ s really not a problem ,” Wood insists , “ And with the way modern footholds are designed with laminated and offset jaws and swivels , there ’ s a minimal chance that dog is going to have an injury .”
Be Snare Aware ! If you ’ re running a dog where there may be snares , Bob Sheppard recommends knowing where your dog is at all times and advocates for leash breaking . “ In most cases of a dog getting caught in a snare , if the dog is leash broke , they may stop and sit down when they realize they ’ re stuck ,” he explains . “ This gives the hunter the chance to come in and cut the snare or release the dog unharmed .” Sheppard also encourages hunters to learn how to operate snares and cable restraints but to carry cable cutters if they feel they need to cut one quickly .
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