Oct. 15, 2011 told in person: I live on East Calle de la Plata northeast of Reno, high on the hill. Previously I have seen bacon hanging from a bush above a nearby canyon with a piece of red plastic tied to a bush nearby. So I suspected there might be traps hidden in the area. Then, on Oct. 15, I saw a coyote on my property. He was dragging his front paw which was caught in a trap. I wanted something done to help this animal. I called Animal Control but they said to call NV Dept. of Wildlife. So I called NDOW and was told they “had only two people” and it would take a week before they could get to me. So then, on a neighbor’s advice, I called a local trapper. But he was out of town guiding a hunt. So then I called Washoe County and was referred to the Sheriff’s Dept. I asked if it was legal for me to shoot the coyote; I just wanted to put it out of its misery. I was told someone would call me back. By now the coyote had clanked away. Shortly thereafter, a Sheriff’s Deputy came to my door. I think law enforcement was concerned that I mentioned discharging a firearm. It is a congested area where I live. The Deputy was very helpful and hiked out with me to find the coyote. We never found the coyote. Now I am afraid to let my dogs off leash because a wounded coyote could be a menace to my terrier. I am frustrated that nobody in local government could do anything to help. At least the Deputy tried and was very considerate. I cannot stand to think of an animal in pain.
Coyotes are frequent trap victims. They have no protection under the law. Their official status is “unprotected”.
My name is Terri Levy and I have been a resident of Reno for
15 years. When I moved here from Mississippi I was expecting a place that was
more advanced in it’s policies and actions taken towards many things. Sometimes
I have been quite impressed and other times I have been mortified, as in the
case of the “snap” traps.
Unfortunately I have seen first hand what these traps can do
to an innocent animal. I worked at the Animal Emergency Center in Reno for 5
years. There is one incident that will forever stick out in my memory:
We had a lady bring in her dog who had gotten caught in one
of these horrific traps. He had gotten in to the neighbor’s yard previously and
to “teach” the dog not to do that, the neighbor set out 5 traps.
Apparently the man didn’t have to answer to anyone when doing this because he
never would have gotten approval. The owners found the dog still in the trap
(after the neighbor went to work),cut it off and sprung the other 4 that they
found. The best guess was that the dog had been in the trap roughly 24 hours.
It had an open fracture (bone sticking out of the skin) and had started chewing
at it’s leg trying to free itself. Because of the rust and dirt, infection had
already set in. We had to amputate the leg and the dog spent several days on
I.V. antibiotics to ward off a system wide infection that would have killed it.
The dog owners were in the wrong. They should have had
control of their pet. But there were other ways this could have been handled.
The man who set the trap also had horses. They were apparently in a different
pasture at the time of the incident but what if someone had let them out? The
parties mentioned above live in a populated area near the Harrah’s Ranch off
Neil Rd. What would our leaders have to say if a neighbor child had gotten
caught in that trap?
These traps are barbaric and non-discriminating. If we can
build a space station and design GPS systems then we can certainly find better
ways to handle the situations where these traps are “so necessary”.
I cannot believe we are still using these barbaric traps.
These should be outlawed asap, and other means should be used. To create
suffering, for any animal has not place in a civilized world. I know of someone
whose precious family dog was caught in one of these, and lost his paw. It
would be like burring [burying] land mines, and hoping only the enemy steps on
them.
This is an unacceptable solution, and creates more problems than
it solves. It is most cowardly to set a trap, hope the “intended”
animal steps into, and then has to suffer, unless it mercifully dies, before a
bullet is put in it.
Please let Nevada become part of the solution, and be good
stewards of our lands.
Thank you.
Kat Simmons
Traps may be buried and invisible, like land mines.
Hi folks, I’d like this email
placed in the record for the Wildlife Commission, I grew up in California
in the 60’s when the trapping laws used to be what Nevada allows now.
They were changed decades ago.
I lost two dogs to traps in the area‐‐one of them obviously suffered horribly for a few days before dying.
I’m trying to imagine what a person caught in the
wilderness by a traditional old‐style bear trap would have to endure.
We should be better and smart enough to figure out
a better way to go about this.
Thanks,
Mike Smith
