Guest Blog by Chris Smith, Wildlife Program Director, WildEarth Guardians
A few years ago, I was poring over trapping regulations in various Western U.S. states, wondering what state stoops the lowest in terms of facilitating the suffering of animals and allowing people to privatize and kill the public’s wildlife. Nevada stood out, and not in a good way. No bag limits. No trapper education requirements. No mandatory reporting. And a 96-hour trap check window.
Yes, in Nevada, an animal can languish in a trap for up to 96 hours legally. The longest of any state in the West — longer than Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
We want to change that.
Among the species who suffer from these archaic “regulations” are mountain lions — charismatic, secretive cats who are critical to ecosystem health even though we rarely get to see them.
Lions aren’t even supposed to be trapped in Nevada — they are a non-target species. But too often lions are caught, injured, maimed, and even killed.
On October 8th, WildEarth Guardians, the Mountain Lion Foundation, and the Nevada Wildlife Alliance submitted a petition to protect mountain lions from the unintended consequences of this cruel trapping practice.
The petition outlines eight recommendations, all of which are not only common-sense adjustments to policy but also important protections for mountain lions:
- Shorten the amount of time between trap checks from 96 to 24 hours.
- Require the proper size of trap for the intended animal.
- Require swivels on traps so that it moves with the animal.
- Ban the use of drags which are weighted components connected to the trap that allow the animal to distance themselves from the trap but not escape. Drags usually prolong or increase suffering.
- Ban the use of multiple sets of traps placed near each other to decrease the likelihood of a mountain lion getting multiple limbs trapped at the same time.
- Require traps to be secured to the ground with a chain < 30 inches so that non-target animals like mountain lions would be able to pull free if caught.
- Require ongoing trapper education for anyone applying for a trapping license.
- Improve and increase the collection of data about non-target species.
Nevadans, we need your help! Please send an email to Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners requesting that they accept our petition and rein in the trapping chaos across the state. If you are a resident (or know a resident), click here to send your letter!