Post by: Humptulips on October 21, 2012, 03:17:00 PM
http://www.twincities.com/ci_21812576 (http://www.twincities.com/ci_21812576)
CROW WING COUNTY -- The dog is a frenzied blur.
Darting and vaulting -- and always sniffing -- Jack, a 1-year-old springer spaniel, is at one instant a few feet from owner John Reynolds and in the next instant a barely visible commotion easier heard rustling leaves than seen through the thick stand of aspen saplings off the trail.
Then, silence.
Reynolds stops in his tracks. Then, the rustling resumes, and the furry blur bolts from the woods and crosses the path again, searching for the scent of a ruffed grouse Reynolds is hunting.
"That's it. That's all it takes," Reynolds says, raising his .410 single-shot shotgun to a resting position on his shoulder. "You can't see them for a second, and then they go silent. That's
Jack, a 1-year-old springer spaniel owned by trapper and hunter John Reynolds of Merrifield, Minn., vaults through the woods, searching for the scent of ruffed grouse in Crow Wing County on Oct. 3, 2012. (Pioneer Press: Dave Orrick) all it takes to kill a dog in a trap."
Last year, Reynolds' dog Penni was killed in a trap legally set on public land near Emily Lake. Penni was one of at least 11 Minnesota dogs killed in the past few years by legal traps meant for bobcats, raccoons, skunks and other furbearing animals. That number is probably higher, according to the Department of Natural Resources, which doesn't track such incidents and believes many go unreported.
The incident prompted Reynolds, a trapper himself, to campaign for tougher rules to ensure that fewer, if any, dogs are killed by certain traps, which can be baited with meat and snap shut on the animal's windpipe, quickly suffocating it.
This weekend, the first of several trapping seasons begins in
Minnesota, and new restrictions are in place.
The Minnesota Trappers Association, which proposed the new restrictions as a counter to tighter rules backed by some lawmakers and the DNR earlier this year, says they'll work. Further restrictions, the trapping group argues, would spell the end for crucial tools of their craft, and especially the trapping of bobcats.
Critics like Reynolds say the new rules don't go far enough, and more dogs, mainly hunting dogs that roam off-leash and off-trail, will die this fall.
The eyes of the DNR, lawmakers, trappers and advocates for change will be fixed on the backwoods this season to see what happens.
'NO DATA'
Reynolds, a founding member of Dog Lovers 4 Safe Trapping, said "26 or 27" dogs have been killed in the past two years, based on reports he received after soliciting them via his group. He said some dog owners might assume their dog was killed by wolves or coyotes and never suspect a trap was involved. The dog simply disappears into the woods and never returns.
Jason Abraham, furbearer specialist with the Minnesota DNR, said he's been able to verify 11, but he's aware of 27 trapping dog deaths since 2007 that have been reported "anecdotally," often through media, social media or secondhand accounts.
Trappers opposed to further regulations are skeptical.
"I've been trapping most of my life, and this never came up before," said Joe Hahn, a 50-year-old trapper from Blackduck. "Why do you think that is?"
Hahn's answer: Anti-trapping groups that for years have sought to outlaw the activity. The Conibear traps, also known as body-gripping traps, at the center of the controversy have been used since the late 1950s.
Abraham said it's possible that last winter had a spike in incidents because the mild winter and lack of snow meant hunters, especially grouse hunters, and their dogs were able to hunt longer and venture deeper into the woods than in years past.
"We lost some of that natural separation between the hunters and the trappers," he said, but he emphasized that's speculation.
"There's no real data," Abraham said. "I always kept an informal count, but last year, when the issue made the news, people started coming out and reporting more. Clearly, we didn't hear about all of them before."
Abraham said he wants to know of dogs that are killed in traps, but there are no plans to create a formal tracking system, such as ones involving law enforcement.
"It's never really come up," he said. "We've never said we wouldn't do it, but we've never really been asked to do it."
WISCONSIN CONTRAST
Minnesota's situation sits in contrast to Wisconsin's.
Since 1998, Wisconsin has had trap restrictions similar to those proposed by Minnesota's DNR. The entire Wisconsin process was led by its DNR.
In 1997, a few game wardens cobbled together a list of likely dog trapping deaths they had seen over the years, recalled John Olson, furbearer specialist for the Wisconsin DNR. That unofficial tally prompted Olson and his colleagues to act.
"We said, 'Gosh, there might be a problem,' " said Olson, who, like Abraham, is also a trapper. "So myself and the president of the trappers association whipped together a trap incident report form for the fall 1997 season. The wardens used it.
"Knocked our socks off. We could not believe the number of incidents out there."
Twenty-seven dogs were caught in the body-gripping traps that fall, and 18 died.
"And what was really bewildering is that nobody was complaining," Olson said. "Most of the incidents were hunting dogs, and hunters over time had accepted that as a risk of being out and about."
The DNR wasn't willing to accept that, and Olson suspected neither would the public -- nor the hunting community if they knew how many dogs were dying each year.
After a series of meetings and hearings with trappers, hunters and other stakeholders, the agency enacted emergency rules that took effect the next season.
DEATHS PLUMMET
The affected traps are known as Conibear 220s and generally have an opening between 6.5 and 7.5 inches wide -- the largest traps that could be baited and left on the ground anywhere trapping is legal, which includes most public hunting grounds. The new rules forced the traps to be raised off the ground or recessed in a cubby.
That season, 1998, five dogs died in Conibear 220s. In 1999, the number fell to three. In 2000: one. In the following eight years, 11 dogs were killed.
"In virtually every one of those where a dog was killed, it was the result of an illegal set," Olson said, meaning the new rules weren't followed. "Or, it was a beagle or a small dog or a puppy."
While some trappers, especially those seeking large raccoons, objected to the traps, Olson said data show the traps have not hampered trapper success -- "not a bit" -- although many trappers were forced to learn new techniques.
Michigan and New York have since adopted similar restrictions, and those states have reported fewer dogs killed and stable furbearer harvests. Similar restrictions have been imposed in northeastern Minnesota's Arrowhead since 2008 under a court order to protect the endangered Canada lynx.
And the Minnesota DNR proposed similar restrictions when lawmakers took up the issue during the spring legislative session, when state Sen. Charles Wiger, DFL-Maplewood, kick-started the debate by proposing restrictions.
The changes that the Legislature finally approved -- and are now state law -- were less restrictive, requiring, for example, an overhang in front of the trap, but a full recess.
MINNESOTA'S DIFFERENT
It appears that no one -- not the trappers, the DNR or lawmakers -- who supported the Minnesota rules -- has been willing to predict how effective they will be. That's because they've never been tried anywhere else.
"We've got to be honest: We don't know how it's going to work," said state Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, who chaired the House committee that held hearings on the issue and who supported the restrictions proposed by the trappers. "We're going have to see if they provide adequate protection. I don't know how we define that, but we're going to have to figure it out. We'll re-evaluate if need be."
The apparent success of tougher restrictions in other states doesn't sway Minnesota trappers like Hahn, who has gathered more than 600 signatures on a petition calling for no further trapping restrictions.
"To do what they want, you basically cut it all off for coon or bobcat or skunk trappers," Hahn said. "The 220 is just a vital tool for us to use. If you're a carpenter and I take your saw away, you're not going to build that house. That's what it's like."
Minnesota is also different from the other states in its robust tradition of trapping bobcats, whose lush fur is expected to fetch nearly $100 per hide on the local market. Minnesota has a stable population of bobcats, according to the DNR. Last year, some 640 trappers killed 1,708 bobcats, according to the agency.
Between 6,000 and 8,000 Minnesotans trap each year. There are between 100,000 and 150,000 grouse hunters in the state. It's unclear how many grouse hunters support more trapping restrictions. Some have been vocal, but its largest group, the Ruffed Grouse Society, has not been active in the debate.
In his September report to members, Minnesota Trappers Association President Shawn Johnson addressed the controversy, writing, in part: "... some zealous dog folks have wrapped themselves in the deceptive mantle of pro trapping advocates. In reality many are just wolves in sheep's clothing. Anti trappers posing as pro trapping supporters to give their cause perceived credibility in the public eye. The battle to save our tools and ultimately our sport is what is really at stake.
"This is the hidden agenda behind many of their petition drives, fundraising, online surveys and other attempts to drive a wedge between sporting groups and the long standing support we've given each other over the years!"
The trappers association pays annually for a page in the DNR's hunting and trapping regulations booklet explaining how to remove a dog caught in a Conibear trap.
Reynolds, who says, "I'm clearly not anti-trapping," and has trapped bobcats with nonlethal leg-hold traps, calls the MTA's page "a cruel joke" for people unfamiliar with how a trap works and says his own familiarity with trapping didn't save Penni.
SILENT DEATH
Reynolds said he attempted to train Penni to be wary of traps by electrifying one -- disarmed -- baiting it, and allowing Penni to get shocked. He said he always scouted areas for signs of traps before letting her loose. On the morning of Dec. 19, he let her roam close by along the east shore of Emily Lake as he set several traps for muskrats.
In a matter of minutes, he realized he couldn't see or hear her. With its windpipe cut off, a dog can't cry out. Reynolds said Penni died less than 50 feet from him, but it took half an hour to find her.
Oct. 20 is the beginning of trapping season for raccoon, fox, badger and opossum. The bobcat season starts Nov. 24.
The grouse season continues to Jan. 1. Reynolds said his last day of hunting with Jack was Oct. 19.
"I won't take that risk again."
Post by: ICEMAN on October 21, 2012, 03:29:15 PM
Still not sure how I feel on this issue... Two groups on a colllision course...
Post by: Humptulips on October 21, 2012, 03:43:46 PM
You can bank on some regulation to solve this in WA if we ever get our traps back and I have any say on the matter.
Trappers can't afford the bad publicity involved with killing dogs. I'm really surprised the state trappers associations back east haven't been a little more proactive on this.