Good morning boys and girls, just another great PR report.

In my experiences a big part of learning how to trap is figuring out where NOT to set just as much as learning the right places to set. Away from other humans as much as possible.

Good thing it wasn't actually a "snare", the UN would be involved by now and there would be rallies and new laws. DO SOMETHING! The horror, the horror!

Here we go have a look at how this got reported...

Woman and Dog Injured by a Trap



The comments below the "reporting" (and I use that term loosely) make me kind of want to encourage the Disney generation to go out and hug bears and mountain lions....

Except I actually Love quite a few of them. Her and Toto are avid hikers and I'm all for it. Still you're in a National FOREST in the winter, when trapping is open, ignorant to the reality around you, and now.....

Traumatized.....after prying the jaws of death open and getting your pinkies stuck in it, then committing larceny and violating game laws.

But WE are the bad guys!?????

Might not be the wisest place to set, but as the official claimed it was legal. I didn't read no mention of broken paws,or fingers. No mention of any bloody lacerations? Multi-use land ??

I saw this in the news this morning and came here to see what was being discussed. I’m pretty disappointed the NTA does nothing to take these opportunities to educate the public about what went wrong in these cases and what the law is. We need to protect our heritage and allowing stuff like this in the news with no response is foolish at best. Defend our heritage! Speak for the masses. This kind of publicity is what will end trapping for good. SMDH.

Yep, it was National Forest Land in fact but I definitely do not recommend trapping on the "human trails", legal or not. For this very reason in fact. The "reporting" says the injuries were minor, I'm glad that Tiger and his master are OK actually, but I'm saying that reporting like this is far from "minor". The comments shown below the report tells the tale of the effects on the public. It's a wonderful world of perceptions out there.

Exactly. Just because it's legal to set there doesn't make it right for trapping. We've got a few You Tube bozos who promote setting in multi-use areas. Stupid.

I call major BS on this women's story.

Look her up. She has multiple arts degrees. Her artwork is mostly animals. The style is impressism, like Salvador Dali's. Which to me is a bit weird type of art , never been a fan of Dali's work , it's just strange. She also holds certification as a licensed counselor , dealing in anxiety and depression.
If she deals with people with anxiety , why would she flip out when her dog got caught ?

I'm not doubting that much that her dog got caught in a trap , but the way she tells the story makes me think how much of the story is true knowing her backstory.

The piles of shotgun shells was a nice topper to the story. Again. Where is the NTA? You can not only educate those that come to you! Keep doing things the same way this will be a moot subject because trapping will be gone.

But i thought fox news was impartial and reported just the facts? I like how they threw in she called to God in her time of need, that kept it conservative for them.

Again , more questions to her story. Who would set a trap near shotgun shells ?
Even if you set a trap there , you would remove the shells somebody left behind as you would not want the odor nearby.

The walking trail are were the public has be attacked by coyote and lions so why not set.

I just read it on Fox News and slipped over here to see if someone posted it. I was 1/3 the way through when I called bs. Pretty sure the South Dakota DNR should ask her a few more questions.

The way the first part of the story is not right from the start when they state that the animal was snared, not foot caught in a trap. As for what she said about the dog get caught in the trap for how it acted is normal when I had some years ago get caught just after I just caught the trap and was in another area of the farm and hear them get caught and how they where till they relax from the first caught shock.

Maybe self promotion

Do not all states require name tags or owner ID of some sort? If the trap had a tag on it this would answer alot of questions but I'm calling BS on her story. Sad part is the damage is done and it'll take alot to change minds.

x2

Like it or not, in this day and age we HAVE TO be very careful where we set traps. Legal or not every dog that gets caught is one step closer to having our right to trap taken away. I am very fourtunate in my state to have vast amounts of BLM and NTL forest land to trap where I don’t have to worry about catching pets. And anyone else that has opportunities to trap places that are dog free or at very least low risk, must do the same. As trappers we need to educate the public about how to easily release a dog from a foothold trap and snares unharmed and teach people that these traps are not what they think. Fair or not, legal or not, DO THE RIGHT THING. As trappers we need to be proactive. The only way to save trapping is to educate the public on the reality of trapping, not what the antis would have them believe. It is up to us as trappers to save this tradition for future generations to enjoy. Period. Every time you set a trap where someone’s dog could be you are jeopardizing trapping as a whole. We need to educate the public, make smart decisions, and save trapping. Either trap smart or don’t ruin it for all of us that do.

Marten Ted ,
Good post. I agree 100%

Every time anyone sets a trap there is a chance to catch a non target, don't kid yourself. Pets and owners of the same trespass every day. Now setting a trap on a hiking trail is not a good choice, just cause it's legal doesn't make it right.

Being legal and being ethical are not always the same thing. We constantly teach it here in Idaho ‘s mandatory trapper education program. About a year ago somebody set traps next to a hiking trail near the Idaho State University and caught a dog and a coyote. Apparently legal sets but not the right thing to do. Unfortunately, it was reported on the local TV news.

Rye what did the NTA say when you called them?

I understand your frustration BUT ... Whenever a local story makes it to Fox News it seems they run with the original. So in this case the story quoted SD DNR. I seriously doubt the original paper called NTA for comment??? Sooooo....how would NTA know?

It is a simple thing to pick up the phone and call an NTA officer or Rep.