End Cruel Trapping On Our Public Lands
- by: Center for Biological Diversity
- recipient: U.S. Congress
Cruel and dangerous traps have no place on federal lands set aside for conservation and recreation, such as the millions of acres within our national wildlife refuges and national forests.
Yet government trappers continue to target animals like wolves, coyotes and mountain lions, even though research shows that eradicating these ecologically essential predators to protect livestock is simply a bad idea. And commercial trappers are still allowed to use federal lands to kill foxes, beavers and other wildlife for their fur.
Captured animals suffer excruciating pain for hours or even days before a trapper returns, and many die from dehydration, injuries or predation. These traps are also indiscriminate -- capable of seriously injuring people and pets if hidden along popular trails or waterways.
Take action today -- urge your representative in Congress to cosponsor the Limiting Inhumane Federal Trapping for Public Safety Act (H.R. 5954, introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.), which would at last help stop this unnecessary killing across a vast swath of federal lands.
Yet government trappers continue to target animals like wolves, coyotes and mountain lions, even though research shows that eradicating these ecologically essential predators to protect livestock is simply a bad idea. And commercial trappers are still allowed to use federal lands to kill foxes, beavers and other wildlife for their fur.
Captured animals suffer excruciating pain for hours or even days before a trapper returns, and many die from dehydration, injuries or predation. These traps are also indiscriminate -- capable of seriously injuring people and pets if hidden along popular trails or waterways.
Take action today -- urge your representative in Congress to cosponsor the Limiting Inhumane Federal Trapping for Public Safety Act (H.R. 5954, introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.), which would at last help stop this unnecessary killing across a vast swath of federal lands.
Dear [Representative]
I am writing to ask you to cosponsor the Limiting Inhumane Federal Trapping for Public Safety Act (H.R. 5954). It's shocking to me that millions of acres of federal lands still allow use of cruel traps such as strangling neck snares and steel-jaw leghold traps. These archaic devices indiscriminately injure and kill countless nontarget animals every year, including threatened species and pets, and have no place whatsoever on our public lands.
[Your comment will be added here]
The Act acknowledges the inhumane nature of body-gripping traps and takes a two-part approach to severely restricting use of these traps to protect public safety and reduce animal suffering:
1) The bill prohibits officials and contractors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior -- including all officials at Wildlife Services, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Forest Service -- from using or recommending use of these inhumane traps.
2) The bill also prohibits all members of the public from using these traps on the same lands -- specifically those managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior, such as national forests, national wildlife refuges and BLM lands.
The legislation contains limited exceptions for certain lands, the protection of endangered species, and the control of invasive species, while promoting transparency and requiring use and documentation of nonlethal methods first.
Our federal lands should be safe havens for wildlife, and I want to enjoy these areas without fear of stumbling upon a trap or encountering an injured animal languishing in one of these gruesome devices. So please, lend your support to this important bill.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Sign PetitionSign PetitionI am writing to ask you to cosponsor the Limiting Inhumane Federal Trapping for Public Safety Act (H.R. 5954). It's shocking to me that millions of acres of federal lands still allow use of cruel traps such as strangling neck snares and steel-jaw leghold traps. These archaic devices indiscriminately injure and kill countless nontarget animals every year, including threatened species and pets, and have no place whatsoever on our public lands.
[Your comment will be added here]
The Act acknowledges the inhumane nature of body-gripping traps and takes a two-part approach to severely restricting use of these traps to protect public safety and reduce animal suffering:
1) The bill prohibits officials and contractors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior -- including all officials at Wildlife Services, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Forest Service -- from using or recommending use of these inhumane traps.
2) The bill also prohibits all members of the public from using these traps on the same lands -- specifically those managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior, such as national forests, national wildlife refuges and BLM lands.
The legislation contains limited exceptions for certain lands, the protection of endangered species, and the control of invasive species, while promoting transparency and requiring use and documentation of nonlethal methods first.
Our federal lands should be safe havens for wildlife, and I want to enjoy these areas without fear of stumbling upon a trap or encountering an injured animal languishing in one of these gruesome devices. So please, lend your support to this important bill.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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