Snare Scare

[Keith Stroyan]

I hunted in NW Iowa where there are still a phew feasnats. On the drive home I stopped at a few public areas. One is a 3/4 mi strip of nice prairie grass with a big drainage ditch on one side, about 15 feet deep with brome grass cover on its banks. The whole thing is only a couple hundred yards wide with picked corn on the outsides. It used to be a good pheasant spot before our triple whammy of winters and wet springs.

It was the youngsters turn to stretch his legs and a hundred yards or so from the car, he went down the side of the ditch. I continued, but when he didn't pop back up, I called. Then I called some more. I figured he was fooling around a beaver dam at the bottom of the ditch and went back to look for him. When I found him he was laying about half way down the bank on a small flat spot. He looked very sheepish and at first I thought he felt guilty about not coming. When I went down to get him, I saw that he had a stainless steel snare around his neck. Rather than keep fighting, he just laid down.

He was fine, but it could have been a different story. Would it hurt the trapper to leave a sign at the entrance: "trapping beavers in the ditch"? It's a public area where lots of pheasant hunters could stop...

Kade got extra hugs last night...

[Jay Dangers]

My neighbors black and tan coonhound got killed in a conibear trap last week hunting on public land. I Have mixed feelings about being allowed to trap on public land.................

[awclark]

I have had bird dogs caught in leg hold traps on more than one occasion while bird hunting. Fortunately, there were never any dire consequences, but I agree that it would be nice if the trapper would post a sign to the effect that active trapping was going on.

[wheelhorse]

I was out trail riding several years ago and one of my dogs stepped in a snare trap. Scared the crap out of me. It was on private land that we had permission to ride on. What I don't understand is why the land owner, who knew we always brought trail dogs with us, allowed the trapping and never let us know! And the traps were placed along the trail that we always used not in an out of the way place.

I am one that is not against trapping, but let us know so we don't lose our dogs!

[HiRollerlabs]

What a scare! Glad "little" Kade is ok and thank goodness he stayed calm and you were there.

Seems like trappers should be required to place notice at the entrance to publicly owned grounds, and possibly put some type of marker at the snare locations. Can we start a petition to the DNR on this?

Saw a Twin Cities TV report on a dog that was caught in a spring trap. Owner couldn't figure out how to open the trap and dog was suffocating. Owner and friends kept after it, and finally got the thing pried open and dog recovered.

[Erik Nilsson]

I have this spot for late season mallards, a guy came in last year and set out a trap (beaver) Im glad I saw it, a stake with a brass # tag. I would hate to pull a dog out of one. Different story for this year though

[wayne anderson]

The secret to dealing with a conibear trap, I am told, is to immediately turn the trap 90 degrees to take the pressure of the dog's neck/windpipe, then work to open the trap. Those traps meant to suffocate the animal. Our club had a couple of professional trappers meet with us this past summer to explain how these traps work, and are concerned about dogs accidentally getting caught in them.

[Shawn White]

On a private farm that I duck hunt with several ponds ,there is a trapper that sets snare traps in the gaps in the fence .The land owner informed me of this just last night as I never knew this was happening.We spoke about it for awhile and what we came up with seemed to be trapper and hunter friendly, he is having the trapper come out today and put orange flagging tape at all his trap locations.We will also no longer be taking the fence row route when going to the ponds. We will go straight through the fields no matter what the conditions are. These traps are very scary and luckily the trapper only sets them during deer season as he is there every day hunting then he runs his traps.

Maybe contacting your state conservation office and working on coming up with a predetermined color (purple paint law in Missouri ) represents no trespassing and holds up in a court of law,here.

No matter what the color if trappers where required to put flagging tape,or any item that was the said specific color seems to be easy for them while not alerting their animals they are after,but gives everyone else a heads up that there are traps within the area. Seems like a logical way for both sides.

[HiRollerlabs]

The secret to dealing with a conibear trap, I am told, is to immediately turn the trap 90 degrees to take the pressure of the dog's neck/windpipe, then work to open the trap. Those traps meant to suffocate the animal. Our club had a couple of professional trappers meet with us this past summer to explain how these traps work, and are concerned about dogs accidentally getting caught in them.

Read a couple of internet stories about the 220 springloaded traps, and apparently they are hard to get off--takes strength and keeping your head about you to get off a panicing dog. The 220's are legal in MN. One said that even if you followed a DNR instructional brochure that shows how to get it off, it would be difficult and most likely the dog is so damaged it will not survive. Found this interesting blog as well:

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbt..._caught_in_220

We were training in Iowa a couple of weeks ago on private property, and a guy was setting snare traps in the ditches for raccoons. He came up and told us because we were right beside the ditch. We made sure we told the property owner. We had our dogs out, loose, after the trapper left and I made sure they didn't get near the ditches.

Here is a link to a petition in MN to stop the use of springloaded 220 conibear traps on the ground. I believe it would require traps to be 5 feet in the air or under water. The petition has 2580 signatures and needs 3,000. Seems like a reasonable compromise??

http://signon.org/sign/safe-public-l...t&r_by=1905165

[Mark Teahan]

We all have the right to enjoy the outdoors.
I am a dog owner and hunter. Snares are legal on land in alot of states and some require a stop on the snare to keep it from closing completely. Conibears are not legal on land in most states. They have to be completely under water.
Simple answer to getting along out there with trappers who have every right to enjoying what they do.
Watch your dog, and carry a leatherman to cut the snare if you can't figure out how to release the lock.
A leg hold trap is easy. If your dog is freaking out, Throw your coat over it and squeeze or step on the springs. Released with no more than a sore pawwe have no more rights than others out there just because we have dogs running loose. Be responsible with your dog and it will live to work another day.

Just my. 02.
Its only fair we share the outdoors.