Trapping Foes Gather in Bend, Will Seek Ban
Trapping for animals in the state of Oregon could soon be a thing of the past, if one group that held a meeting in Bend Monday night has its way.
TrapFree Oregon held a public meeting at the Central Oregon Environmental Center Monday night to kick off an initiative to get trapping banned in the state.
“I’m against the use of body-grip traps — period,” said Wally Sykes, the founder of TrapFreeOregon.org “However, it’s not a perfect world and their may be some compromise solutions possible.”
Nearly 60 people packed the room for the meeting. Several got up to speak on the issue and say what it means to them to save an animal’s life from what they call a cruel and inhumane way to kill.
Irene Hardwicke-Olivieri says she wanted to get involved at an incident near her home.
“It was just shocking,” she said. “When they described this to me, apparently (the trapper) has a permit to kill as many animals he wants in these very barbaric traps.”
The contentious issue has returned to the spotlight recently after about several dogs were caught in traps across Central Oregon in recent months.
“We’ve seen half a dozen this year,” said Michelle Dennehy, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We think it could be related to the fact that there is less snow usual, and because of that, people and their dogs are getting into area’s where normally they wouldn’t be.”
The ODFW plans to review the trapping regulations in June and is seeking feedback from the public.
ODFW Tipsheet on Dogs and Legal Trapping (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
