Wyoming Untrapped

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307-201-2422
info@wyominguntrapped.org
P.O. Box 9004 Jackson, WY 83002

About
- Mission
- History
- Who We Are
- Careers
- WU in the News
- Contact
Our Work
Get Involved
Learn More
Donate

About
- Mission
- History
- Who We Are
- Careers
- WU in the News
- Contact
Our Work
Get Involved
Learn More
Donate

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Part 2: A letter written to WU from an experienced trapper (continued from previous post)....
“I can't put it in words the carnage that I have witnessed - a trapper cannot help but cause indescribable pain, misery, and suffering to target and non-target animals (on land especially). Though some traps and snares are designed for instant or rapid death, more times than not it doesn't work that way. In my life of trapping there were many, many times that I was thankful no one was around - in fact, I operated alone 99 percent of the time because I didn't want anyone experiencing the events of the day. (I have never used snares - only as foot snares to capture bears or to test the Belise snare traps in France). Touting the modern version of traps and trap designs is fine but in reality, any improvements to foothold traps are negated IF you don't check traps daily - the traps may be improved to cause less injury but NO trap or snare is designed to prevent pain, fear, and suffering by holding a wild animal by compression or depriving them of water - let alone taking away their freedom. At that point, a trapper is RESIGNED to the task of putting the animal out of their miserable situation.

Thank you for addressing this painful issue. Wildlife Services appears to be like all of our other cultural institutions - keep the "mountain man" exploitation gene alive! As a man living the life of a trapper - now, I find solace in watching animal families, beaver, coyotes, wolves, you name it, go about their lives undisturbed by humans. Looking back I'm sorry but I was a product of the times and environment I grew up in - I didn't know different or any better. No excuses.

Please keep up the pressure and I sincerely hope I can do more....."
Anonymous

Thanks to this remarkable human being for the courage to share how he feels today. We all have stories of where we have been, where we are today, and where we hope to be in the future.

WU envisions a future where cruel and inhumane trapping and snaring is unimaginable.
Thanks to Wyoming photographer @samparksphoto for this Madison River, Yellowstone bobcat. Check out his images.

#wyoming #wyomingwild #trapfee #roamfree

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Since WU was founded, we have been privileged to make new friends who have mentored us through a learning curve that started from the ground up. We continue to learn more each day, and we hope, our statements are always the truth as we know it. We pride ourselves on the trust we have built on this dedicated journey, and we have nourished friendships and partnerships that we can trust as well. The letter below was written to WU by a longtime friend that we highly respect and trust. He shares from years of trapping experience...he knows the truth. *************************
Part 1: "I admire you for pursuing the trapping and snaring issue. I probably should do more but am still thinking of the best way to do and say something....... I think you are dead on target by what you state. Wildlife management, back in my day and before, attracted the hunters, trappers and fisherman - the "hands-on" kind of people that grew up in the most rural environments. That was my exposure to nature, guns, and traps being a significant influence. No other way to state it, "it was fun" to hunt, trap and fish - other kids and adults admired a successful sportsman, the family benefited from the food brought home and a kid/adult experienced a financial incentive by selling the byproducts and the proceeds were significant in those days - you could actually fill your gas tank with money left over!

I'm still in deep thought about another book to express my feelings. I've changed tremendously from those days. One question I would ask promoters of trapping and snaring - "would you be comfortable taking someone who has never trapped or snared along with you to check those devices? I don't mean the sterilized version - get up early and check traps EACH morning. I'm talking the NORMAL version - put out a long trap and snare line and let them "sit" for several day. or a week or more and then go visit the carnage. I can't put it in words the carnage that I have witnessed - a trapper cannot help but cause indescribable pain, misery, and suffering to target and non-target animals (on land especially)....
(Too be continued on our next post)

Thank you @nickgarbuttphotograpy!

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Last week, a new law was signed to Prevent Animal Cruelty & Torture, the PACT Act. This is good news, but the wildlife we work so hard to defend in Wyoming are excluded from the PACT, such as this gorgeous sentient coyote captured in this image graciously shared with us by @grant.t.johnson. It’s been a hard few days for WU as we investigate several trapping incidents that have been reported, including an adult female mountain lion killed in a trapper’s snare, two mountain lion kittens caught in double legholds set illegally on state land, and a Barn Owl flying while carrying a leghold trap. Thousands more non-target animals are caught, injured and die in these steel traps, snares and Conibears that litter our landscapes. But yet there are no protections for them. The PACT Act is a first step to address the brutal treatment of animals in our country, but we will continue to fight for the wild ones that are being tortured every day this winter season, and some, all year long.
On this day, we are filled with gratitude for those who have supported WU in the past, present, and hopefully, in the future. We absolutely could not accomplish our work without your loyal and uplifting support. We are forever grateful.
Please, if you can, also support the photographers who share their magnificent wild images to give a voice for the wild ones.
Together, we will win this war on wildlife!

Thank you @grant.t.johnson !

#wyoming #wyomingwild #wyomingphotographer #trapfree #roamfree

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Today is a sad day for Wyoming bobcats. It’s the start of the TAKE ALL bobcat trapping season. They can be killed by traps, snares, Conibears, bullets, choke poles, and almost any other manner. For one cheap $45 license: unlimited take of bobcats, any age, with any size traps. We value these animals alive. And so does the #2 tourism industry in Wyoming, a large part of that is wildlife-watching.
During the winter of 2016, a bobcat was frequently seen near the Madison River in Yellowstone. This single bobcat brought in tourists, photographers, and wildlife watchers from nationwide which resulted in economic benefit to the local economy around Yellowstone National Park. In collaboration with Panthera, a cat research and conservation organization, our study aimed to quantify this value of one bobcat which was enjoyed by so many. This is a $308K bobcat during a three month period. We are redefining conservation to its core.

Photo: The Madison River bobcat captured so beautifully by @thomasdmangelsen
To purchase prints: Mangelsen.com
Thank you Tom!

#wyomingwild #wyoming #furfree #roamfree

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A reward is being offered for an authentic sighting of a Wyoming fisher. Fishers are believed to be extirpated in Wyoming, but we believe they could exist in our state. Mustelids are valued by our wildlife watching public. Learn about fisher, spread the word, get out your camera traps to benefit our Wyoming wildlife and its habitat.
Info@Wyoming Untrapped.org
307-201-2422 *************
This poster was published over two years ago, and still active. We have received dozens of possible sightings reports, but not any definitive of fisher. We still believe.
#wyomingwild #wyoming
#fisher #furfree

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“It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the suffering this endured from fear, from acute pain, maddened by thirst, and by vain attempts to escape. Bull baiting and cock fighting have rightly been put down by law...Some who reflect upon this subject for the first time will wonder how such cruelty can have been permitted to continue in these days of civilization; and no doubt if men of education saw with their own eyes what takes place under their sanction, the system would have been out an end to long ago. We shall be told that setting steel traps is the only way to preserve game, but we cannot believe that Englishmen when their attention is once drawn to the case, will let even this motive weigh against so fearful an amount of cruelty.”
From 1863, by Charles Darwin, on the cruelty of the steel-jaw leghold trap. **********
@goeddelphotography shares an image closeup of a bobcat’s short tail, tipped black on top and white below, a commercial pelt byproduct of trapping. **********
For more Wyoming wildlife images, please visit @goeddelphotography. Thank you!
#wyomingwild #wyoming

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For those who value western Wyoming bobcats alive on our public landscapes, furbearer trapping harvest season starts on November 15. A $45 license will allow an unlimited quota and killing in any manner. The pelts can be sold commercially, cut up for coats, collars, cuffs and these bobcat tail byproduct keychains sold in a local Jackson, WY retail store for $17.99 each. Yes, the wildlife that have ensured tourism as the #2 industry in the state are slaughtered and sold for fun, trophies and profit just when these animals are the most vulnerable in the freezing winter temps. What’s wrong with this picture?
Join us to protect and preserve living bobcats on our Wyoming landscapes.
wyomingUNtrapped.org

#wyomingwild #wyoming #trapfree #trapping #thetruthabouttrapping #trappingreform #trapsandtrailsdontmix

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This gorgeous long-tailed weasel in Yellowstone Park (by @goeddelphotography) is worth more than the fur off its back. Trapping is a barbaric and cruel practice that has no place in a civilized world. It causes unimaginable suffering for so many animals that are frequently left to languish in traps for days, dying a slow and painful death. Modern-day trapping is not a necessity for anyone. It isn’t for food, it isn’t for warm clothing; It’s done in the sole name of profit and, incomprehensibly, for “fun”. Trapping also represents a serious threat to some of the rarest wildlife populations on the continent, such as wolverines, fisher and lynx. Additionally, it is extremely dangerous for the many people who recreate on public lands and their pets. This little long-tailed weasel, in its beautiful white winter coat, cannot speak for itself. But we can. Please join us to support our Wyoming furbearers.
Wyominguntrapped.org
Thank you!

Thanks to the generosity of @goeddelphotography for sharing this invaluable little/big weasel! Check out her soon-to-focus on critter tails!

#wyomingwild #wyoming #furfree #trapfree #roamfree

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We are gearing up for the year ahead following the successful annual community fundraising event, “Old Bill’s Fun Run”, which involves over 200+ non-profits. This invaluable season of gracious giving to our WU mission gives us the support we need to continue pushing forward with our trapping reform goals. The shift to value living wildlife is inevitable as the public gains awareness of the lack of science in managing Wyoming wildlife.
Thanks to our community, Old Bill, the JH Community Foundation and co- challengers for a record breaking year!
Thanks to our loyal supporters, donors, volunteers, photographers and all who have joined our team. Your contributions have been invaluable, and we are forever grateful! ***Wyoming coyote courtesy of G. Scully. Thank you!

307-201-2422
info@wyominguntrapped.org
P.O. Box 9004 Jackson, WY 83002

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RECENT BLOG POSTS

A Trapper’s Story – The Truth December 3, 2019
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Wyoming Untrapped teaches pet safety after traps catch dogs November 24, 2019

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P.O. Box 9004, Jackson, WY 83002
307-201-2422
info@wyominguntrapped.org

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