The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has been providing money to the state, local governments, land trusts and other non-profits to purchase and protect land since 1989. It has helped protect more than 500,000 acres. These lands benefit all of us in Wisconsin by providing jobs, benefiting local economies, protecting our water resources & air quality, promoting tourism & healthy lifestyles, guaranteeing places to hunt, hike, fish and explore close to home.
However it forces the Land Trusts and others who protect the land to allow animal trapping. Let's keep the "Nature Preserve" a place where nature is protected from the inhumane practice of trapping.
Every year, trappers kill 10 million raccoons, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, opossums, nutria, beavers, otters, and other fur-bearing animals. Trappers use various types of traps, including snares and conibear traps, but the steel-jaw trap is the one that’s most widely used.
The American Veterinary Medical Association condemns these traps and has classified them as “inhumane.”
When an animal steps on the steel-jaw trap spring, the trap’s jaws slam shut, clamping down on the animal’s limb or paw. As the animal struggles in excruciating pain to get free, the steel vise cuts into his or her flesh—often down to the bone—mutilating the leg or paw. Some animals, especially mothers desperate to return to their young, will even attempt to chew or twist off their trapped limbs.
Animals often struggle for hours, sometimes days, before they finally succumb to exhaustion, exposure, frostbite, shock, and death.
Because steel-jaw traps are inherently cruel, they have been banned in 88 countries. Their use is banned or restricted in several U.S. states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington. The European Union has banned the use of steel-jaw traps in Europe and banned the importation of pelts from countries that use these cruel devices to trap and kill fur-bearing animals.
Not only are traps cruel, they are also completely indiscriminate. Every year, dogs, cats, birds, and other animals—including endangered species—are “accidentally” crippled or killed by traps placed in public areas across the country.
Please sign this petition to remove trapping from the language and allowed uses of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant.
