Non-Targets Trapped Elsewhere

Woman Who Released Eagle in Traps Being Sued By Trapper

by Kate Boyd

October 16,2015 – Juneau, Alaska
Judge: Hiker liable for springing traps, but trapper did not prove damages

Judge rules Kathleen Turley does not owe the trapper, John Forrest, any money. He could not prove his losses. Wonder if his income tax returns would have helped?

Judge Thomas Nave wrote, “The court cannot find by clear and convincing evidence the acts committed by Ms. Turley were outrageous, including acts done with malice or bad motives or they evidenced reckless indifference to the interest of another person.”

But, can the same be said of the trapper? Because trapping is legal, doesn’t make it right. When did the trapping of a bald eagle, a protected animal, become legal? Where is its defense and the charges?

Some interesting points from the hearing:
Ms. Turly’s attorney asked, “What if a dog was caught in a trap, and there were several other traps in the same vicinity. Would it be illegal for a person to set off the other traps, so once the dog was freed, it wouldn’t get caught in another one?”

Zane Wilson, attorney for Juneau trapper John Forrest, said “they were before the court because Turley was “unapologetic” for setting off traps that they considered unrelated to the eagle, and that she should “learn something from this exercise.”

Photo courtesy: Kathleen Turley of the trapped eagle on Davis Trail in Juneau.

So where is the trapper’s apology, charges, restitution and payment for the bald eagle he trapped that had to be euthanized?

What did the trapper “learn from this exercise”? Forrest’s testimony on the witness stand is quite indicative, “I thought it was a great photograph, and if I hadn’t personally caught the eagle, I’d say….
The GUY KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. The EAGLE HAD A TRAP ON BOTH FEET.

To try to avoid the trapping of eagle, in Montana, – No trap or snare may be set within 30 feet of an exposed carcass or bait, more than one pound in weight, which is visible from above. However, eagles hop along the valley floor and fall victim to traps and snares.

Photo courtesy: Kathleen Turley of the trapped eagle on Davis Trail in Juneau.

This bait would apparently be legal in Montana, too.

A minimum of 15 reported raptors, including numerous golden eagles, goshawk, bald eagle, and owls, fell victim to traps and snares in Montana from Jan 2013 through Mar 2015. They do not have to be reported if they can be released “unharmed”. This determination generally falls upon the trapper.

Golden eagles in Montana are declining and have researchers concerned.

Thank you to all that contacted the Governor of Alaska and voiced your objection to trapping and this eagle case and subsequent law suit, in particular.

Article from the hearing
Article on judge’s ruling

Trapped Birds

Bald Eagle Caught in Coyote Trap Recovering in Cody

by Kate Boyd

August 15,2015 – Cody, Wyoming
A bald eagle is recovering in Cody after being snagged by an illegal trap in Idaho. The eagle was taken to a raptor recovery center in Jackson. It may survive, but other raptors caught in traps in Wyoming have not.

The two year old doesn’t have her white head and tail yet, but she does have the strength and size of a full-grown bald eagle. She can’t fly, however, because she was injured in a trap set for coyotes.

Bald Eagle Caught in Coyote Trap Recovering in Cody

Photo kulr8.com
Non-Targets Trapped Elsewhere

Twice-trapped Mountain Lion

by Kate Boyd

“She roamed the rough country near the Sweetwater Mountains in western Nevada. She feasted on mule deer and rabbits. And two years ago she died violently, as mountain lions in Nevada often do. Yet there is something about her life that sets her apart from other mountain lions, an unfortunate turn of events that illustrates the brutal and indiscriminate nature of fur trapping.

Photo courtesy: Reveal news

In Nevada, trapping mountain lions is illegal. This cat was trapped twice by mistake in traps set to catch bobcats. The second time, a state wildlife official snapped pictures. In one, she sits in a tree, snarling and defiant. In the photo above, she has been sedated and hangs helpless from a branch, her paw in a trap, before eventually being released. After that incident, trap-related injuries – including a mangled paw and missing claws – began to take a toll. Six feet long, she weighed only 75 pounds. She was in pain. She was hungry. And she was desperate. That is what led her to into the crosshairs of dangers, to a ranch where – unable to bring down natural prey – she began killing sheep and goats. And that is where a rancher shot and killed her on March 27, 2014. We know such details from documents and photos maintained by the Nevada Department of Wildlife. “Very gaunt and thin,” wrote an official who investigated her death. “Left front foot badly damaged from recent trap season wound. Missing two toes. Left bottom canine recently broken.” -Tom Knudson, senior reporter.

Non-Targets Trapped Elsewhere

Trappers have a name for it…..they call it “wring-off”

by Kate Boyd

Trapped animals are desperate to escape. One of the worst things that can happen to a wild animal in danger is the inability to execute instinctive survival options, flee, fight, freeze or bluff and achieve successful results. With trapping those natural lifesaving behaviors are futile and the trapped animal pays a significant price in doing so…. from dislocations, broken bones, broken teeth, strangling, exposure, exhaustion, expenditure of precious calories, loss of toes, paws, even escaping with the trap still attached. Revealnews “I found a coyote in a trap and it was horrible. I was leading a Sierra Club outing and saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. The coyote was struggling against the trap and the chain. She would lunge to try to get away. She would reach the end of the chain and it would flip her over. And she would do it again. The trap was slowly wrenching her foot off. Trappers have a name for that. They call it a wring-off. It totally changed the outing, to see that suffering. When I got home, I called a game warden. We agreed to meet the next morning. When we got there, she had managed to completely finish the job. She had wrung her foot off and was no longer in the trap. I don’t know what happened to her. I am haunted still. It was so horrible.” – Retired New Mexico high school teacher Mary Katherine Ray. This photo she took of the coyote is now the logo for Trap Free New Mexico. Senior reporter @tom.knudson is sharing photos and stories from his reporting on America’s booming fur trapping industry and its hidden toll on wildlife. Read his full investigation on website, revealnews.org.

Photo courtesy of Reveal News
Trapped Montana Pets

Traps found near walking trail west of Tech

by Kate Boyd


While some in Montana try to preserve trapping claiming it’s a heritage, the trapping of dogs has become an increasing fact in trapping tradition. At least two of the traps found last week were about 200 feet from a maintained, designated walking trail, Whiskey Gulch area west of Montana Tech. One trap was tripped by a human — who wasn’t hurt. In another incident, a dog was caught. And in yet another, a skunk had been snagged. Until we achieve trap free Montana public lands, this is not the first or last we will hear of trapping holding us hostage from our right to safely recreate on our public lands. In the same vicinity, Bandit, pictured below, was trapped Dec 2013, behind Montana tech, more on the Rocker side off of Browns Gulch road during a short walk just a few feet from the road as his owner stopped to grab treats. In releasing the trap from her traumatized Bandit, the trap slammed shut causing a good deal of swelling to her finger and she wound up with cuts and bruises on both hands. A month later her hands had healed but her finger was still very sore. She ripped the trap out in her fury and turned it into the warden. Especially for her, “Seeing the pain and terror my dog went through just being caught in it for a minute was horrible.” She said she would never walk there again.

Trapped Birds

Wildlife Rehabbers witness the truths in trapping inc to our National emblem

by Kate Boyd

May 26,2015 – Adams County Petenwell Park near Nekoosa, WI
Trapping and the indiscriminate cruelty it inflicts. How do trappers sleep at night or look at themselves in the mirror knowing the truths of this horror, they call recreation or ridiculously, science based regulated wildlife management?

Bald Eagle Suffers Injuries to Legs/feet from Trapping – video May 26, 2015- Raptor Education Group, Inc.

Photo courtesy: Raptor Education Group, Inc.
Photo courtesy: Raptor Education Group, Inc.
Non-Targets Trapped Elsewhere

Coyote hunter shoots and kills two dogs in state park south of Stoughton

by Kate Boyd

Trigger happy predator haters kill innocent animals, including our pets. Even the Montana Trappers Association now sponsors events such as Predator Killing Contests that fosters this mindset. This is unethical, unnecessary, irresponsible, and is going to eventually lead to much more serious consequences. The coyote killing craze takes the lives of Veterinarian’s 2 beloved dogs that were wearing vests! One ran to her with her chest shot open. The other was likely 3 times the size of a coyote…what, was he hoping, like many, to kill a wolf and claim thought it was a “coyote” that just happened to be wearing a reflective vest? If our pets aren’t getting caught in secreted traps, they are getting shot by these predator haters. What is wrong with these people? No excuses! No reason to be so vindictive to another species just because you legally can! Our dogs and our safety are in serious jeopardy.

Trapped Montana Pets

Beloved pet missing for a week was caught in a trap

by Kate Boyd

And its stories like these, that keep us fighting. This Bozeman beloved pet missing for a week was caught in a trap and might lose her leg, and hopefully not her life. We have no required trap check time interval in Montana. Trappers don’t even have to assist a trapped pet, they are just required to report it,…..then they can just let it go. What this poor dog & her family have been through is horrific. Our prayers for Bea’s healing!

Trapped Montana Pets

Trapper – another innocent victim

by Kate Boyd

Another innocent victim, another “Trapper”, in Montana, courtesy of the indiscriminate cruelty of trapping, for days running scared, with a trap attached, in pain. How many more “Trappers” will there be? The last known one was a cat in Hamilton who lost its leg as a result. Thank you to all those that didn’t give up, that helped this poor frightened and hurting dog. Our trapped wildlife need such allies. No animal should be allowed to be treated this way. It is never with a clear conscience that we have a full stomach, a warm home, and sleep at night knowing another is in pain. The last six days have been a fairly steady diet of restless nights. On Saturday, it was reported to us that there was a young dog running loose with a leg hold trap (most likely meant for a coyote) on its leg. Animal Control Officer along with other Fish & Game officers tried to catch it. We tried to catch it and we tried to live trap it. Even in what I can only imagine to be excruciating pain, with hunger gnawing at its stomach, and in the freezing cold, it has been too smart. It has eluded us. Until now. With the assistance of Ft. Belknap Animal Control Officer, Greg, we got her. This man showed true dedication and compassion to help despite today being his day off. Thank you Greg! We couldn’t have done it without you! This, my friends, is “Trapper.” A young female that is scared to death. Although the trap is now removed, and she is on pain as well as antibiotic medicines (thank you to our awesome Bear Paw Veterinary Service), she is still scared. And still in pain. Tonight she eats. Tonight she sleeps in warmth without danger of harm. She does not know that yet but she will. And we will sleep better. After we catch up on the chores (smile). The day may not have started out warm and toasty but…it was a good day. When you get a moment, do us a favor and send warm wishes to Trapper. She may be out of the woods but she is not quite home yet. Not yet.