ALERT!
BE AWARE THAT TRAPS ARE OUT THERE ON WYOMING LANDSCAPES. WHEREVER YOU SEE WILDLIFE, THERE COULD BE TRAPS OR LETHAL SNARES AND CONIBEARS.

BRUTAL TRAPPING INCIDENT.

On December 29, 2024, a dog was caught in a leghold trap near Laramie, WY. The dog was lightly injured after being released from the trap by its owner. The location is Twin Peaks Loop Rd, 707 Forest Road Trailhead. The trap was located adjacent to the public trail.

WU called the Game and Fish Department in Laramie and requested an investigation of this non-target incident. WGFD responded and investigated the incident location on Saturday, Jan 4, 2025. The trap was legal.

WU submitted a Wyoming Public Records Act request for any information involved in this incident. and will await a response.

This non-target should never have happened. WU and the public have requested trap setbacks off public trails and roads, mandatory trapper education, trap-free areas, and 24-hour trap checks. Still, state and federal wildlife management have resisted, supporting less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the people in Wyoming who decide to trap anywhere it is also legal to walk a dog. Wildlife have no place to escape these steel devices littered across our landscapes.

Trappers are not required to attend a mandatory education course. For furbearers (beavers, bobcats, badgers, mink, muskrats, martins, and weasels), anyone can purchase one license and kill in unlimited numbers during winter. A trapper does not need a license for predatory animals (foxes, coyotes, and wolves in areas of the state, and more) and can trap, snare, shoot, or kill in almost any manner on any day of the year. Reporting of most trapped target or non-target animals is voluntary. Thousands of animals are killed that we will never know about.

No one is held accountable if your pet gets caught in a legal trap. Trappers can legally kill your pet!

Wyoming is rated as one of the worst in the country for its lack of trapping regulations. Many states are stepping up to progressive modern-day humane wildlife management, using alternative methods to prevent and reduce conflict.

Until we can get these deadly steel devices off our trails and create setbacks and trap-free zones throughout the state, please know what to do before heading out into the field.

Watch our full-length webinar workshop:
bit.ly/WyomingUntrapped-webinar-workshop
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Download our Pet Trap Safety Brochure to your smartphone for access in the field:
wyominguntrapped.org/trapping-brochures/
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Watch our 11-minute video: “How to Release Your Pet From a Trap”
wyominguntrapped.org/portfolio-item/how-to-release-your-pet-from-a-trap/
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Be Snare Aware! Learn all about these lethal snares:
https://wyominguntrapped.org/snare-aware/
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Carry tools with you if needed to help release your pet. We have assembled UNtrapped Packs to make it easier for you. At a minimum, carry an aircraft cable cutter if your pet is caught in a snare. These tools could save your pet’s life. You can find our UNtrap Pack and cable/snare cutters on our website.
wyominguntrapped.org/programs/untrap-packs/

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Have you experienced a negative trapping incident involving you, your pet, your family, or another living thing?