[told in person] My grandmother found a dog wandering near Pyramid Lake with a missing right front paw. Nobody claimed the dog, so grandmother adopted her. Eventually the paw healed, but it looked ragged as though it was chewed off.
[told in person] We were hiking in the Carson City area about 1990 with a small, 25-pound dog. The dog got trapped. We reported it to the sheriff and to NV Dept. of Wildlife. NDOW told her, “If we get more complaints we’ll do something.”
Two years later, we were hiking with a different dog, who weighed 40 pounds. She was trapped near Sparks Family Hospital. My friend went to call Animal Control who came out with a stretcher for the dog. She was taken to Fairgrounds Animal Hospital. Fortunately, there was just soft tissue damage. I called the sheriff, and the county, city and state governments to complain.
[told in person] We were checking out an old mine near Winnemucca in the King’s River area. We heard a dog screaming and found it caught in a trap. We managed to get the trap off. [ means an animal can be immobilized in agony for as long as 4 days. Several efforts to have this visit time shortened via legislation have failed.]
Nevada law allows trappers 96 hours before they have to visit their traps. This means an animal can endure heinous agony for as long as four days – that is, if the trapper shows up and then kills the animal. TrailSafe efforts to shorten this visitation time were not successful. The national standard is 24 hours – that is, if we have to have trapping at all!
2009 told in person: My friend’s dog was trapped in Pleasant Valley in 2009. The dog was traumatized, but recovered. This was especially outrageous because there were four traps, all set near a school.
Traps aren’t needed to protect humans – Letter to Editor Reno Gazette Journal March 4, 2007
We live in a remote area. We have come across rattlesnakes, mountain lions, coyotes and bears. Give them their space and they have not harmed us. We do this without weapons. Do not run or turn your back on them.
If you don’t know how to get your dog out of a steel trap, you will soon learn. We’ve had to do this twice in the Red Rock area.
The main thing I would like to say is these traps are inhumane and are not necessary to keep people safe from wild animals. Wild animals are afraid of humans and want to stay away. They need their space, too, like we need ours, and they shouldn’t be killed in traps. This is not a good form of recreation.
Jan Key, Reno