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Dog Trapping Incident: Kiro | Fall Creek Rd, Jackson, WY | Dec 2012

Trap Incident Investigation Report
Date Occurred: December 2012
Location: Fall Creek Road near Wilson, WY
Victim Species: Domestic Dog
Victim Name: Kiro
Owner Name: Linnea Gardner
Victim Outcome: Lived
Trap Type: Snare
Trap Legality: Illegal
Legal Outcome:  

Owner Account:

From a letter to the editor:
I would like to call attention to a harrowing experience I recently had with my dog while snowshoeing in the Fall Creek area. Shortly after starting, my dog disappeared off the trail. This was about 20 feet from the road. I called, as he usually stays close and within sight, and got no response.

Backtracking to where his prints left the trail I saw him in the willows about 15 feet away, standing and starting at me. I called him to come and he did a small hop but did not move forward. He did not bark or make any noise, and I realized that something was wrong and that he was in some way stuck.

I crawled through the willows to free him only to find that he was caught in a snare trap, a cable noose around his neck, which pulled tighter as he struggled. He was unable to bark because it was so tight, and unable to move far as the excess cable had wrapped around his body, making it even tighter. He had been lured to the trap by a large hunk of meat, which was next to him. I was able to release him, the difficulty being the tight noose. Upon examination, I found him to be scared and stressed by physically OK. I did some research into the local trapping rules and regulations. the trap and location themselves were both legal; the meat lure was not. My biggest concern is that anyone recreating, with or without their dog(s) or taking the family out to cut down a Christmas tree be aware that trapping can be occurring anywhere on the forest and that you must keep a close watch on your pets and children. Traps do not have to be marked as to their location. Also, there are number of different types of traps that can be used, some more dangerous than others. Education yourself and most importantly be aware.

Though it is legal to place traps by roads and trails, I would ask that trappers consider not setting their traps near areas commonly frequented by people and their pets for recreation. All of us share the forests in different ways, and we need to respect each other’s rights in order to make it a safe and enjoyable experience for all.

Linnea Gardner>
Wilson, WY

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