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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“Life is your art. An open heart is your camera

“Life is your art. An open heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film.”
- Ansel Adams

We give thanks to all of you who support the wild things as essential contributors to the health of our public landscapes.
Please leave the fur for the warmth of this mink when it needs it most.
Thank you @jameslyule for a rare image of this big/little Wyoming furbearer.

#wyoming #wyomingwild #trapemwithacamera #roamfree

Wyoming mountain lions surprise us now and then wi

Wyoming mountain lions surprise us now and then with moments that remain with us for a lifetime. It’s a gift into a wild world that is just as sentient as our own. These gorgeous cougars are indiscriminately caught by traps and snares in our state. Some are released, most likely with broken toes or feet, with a poor chance of survival. Some die in the traps, a human caused mortality. This is the face of trapping in Wyoming.
Please join us to create a future where inhumane trapping is unimaginable!
WyomingUNtrapped.org
Thank you!
Photos courtesy of @lisarob22. Spottingscope with iPhone.
#wyomingwild #wyoming #mountainlions #cougars #freedomtoroam #trapemwithacamera

Compassion is growing! Over the five years that W

Compassion is growing!

Over the five years that WU has been dedicated to wildlife, we are aware of several Wyoming ranches that have chosen to offer wild animals a safe haven, to be trap free. The number is increasing statewide. This week, we were contacted by one of these ranch owners, Scott, in Sheridan, Wyoming. His photos of this wild, free and Untrapped bobcat warm the heart and renew our hope that there is growing compassion to coexist with our wild neighbors. | “We bought this ranch several years ago and moved to Wyoming. We have always loved animals. We did a wetland project and took down 9 miles of barbwire. Out here where you see the animals right out of the window and look them in the eye it really makes us want to protect them. I was never a hunter. We have now stopped eating meet. The more I watch them the more I see how they care about their lives and those of their families just like we do. I’m almost 64 and we hope all these animals are around for our grandkids and future generations.” Scott Johnson

Photo: Gorgeous wild bobcat “shot with a camera” on a Wyoming private ranch by the owner. Thank you, Scott Johnson!
#wyomingwild #wyoming #roamfree

Our new ad in the @jhstylemagazine is already maki

Our new ad in the @jhstylemagazine is already making waves, reaching thousands of visitors over the holiday season and through the furbearer trapping season.
WU believes that the value of bobcats to the health of our public landscapes outweighs the recreational opportunity to trap and kill bobcats with cruel and inhumane steel devices four months of the year without any scientific foundation.
We’ll continue to push for crucial trapping reform for these persecuted bobcats.
Thanks to Wyoming photographer James Yule, once again, for sharing this gorgeous Wyoming wild bobcat.
#wyoming #wyomingwild #bobcats #roamfree

“Wolves are dying far beyond the need to protect

“Wolves are dying far beyond the need to protect private property, far beyond any data implicating big game population declines, far beyond what I believe is consistent with state-of-the-art wildlife management, and far beyond what is responsible, defensible, and moral for this country and this century.”
- Franz Camenzind, WU Advisory Board member ———
Wolves continue to lose protections in our state. The majority of wolves “harvested” in September and October are pups, ~4.5 months old. Trophy hunt season has been extended in one of the hunt areas. And wolves designated as predatory status in the state continue to be persecuted with snares, traps, bullets and almost any other manner. This wolf shown in a gorgeous image by Wyoming Photographer, Sue Ernisse, shared its beauty with hundreds of local photographers, individuals and visitors to Wyoming...as it should be. Magnificent wild beings deserve to live free, without being exposed to archaic and brutal steel devices on our public landscapes. ———-
Thank you, Sue Ernisse!
Facebook.com/sue.ernisse

#wyoming #wyomingwild #trapfree #roamfree #wolves🐺 #savethewolves

There really is “muskrat love” for the creatur

There really is “muskrat love” for the creatures we often fail to understand. This image taken in @grandtetonnationalpark by Wyoming photographer John Canetta takes us to a safe haven for these big/little furbearers. Muskrats are creatures, like us, living in a complex, natural world. Their lives have purpose.
Thank you for sharing John and MariaElena Canetta!
#wyoming #wyomingwild #gtnp #muskrats #muskratlove

Part 2: A letter written to WU from an experienced

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

Since WU was founded, we have been privileged to m

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!

Last week, a new law was signed to Prevent Animal

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

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

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Cache traps removed, trapper cited January 11, 2020

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

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