Seeing the Death Ray post got me wondering what your States law is regarding dispatch.
Here in Georgia ours states: It is unlawful to fail to carry a weapon of .22 cal. rimfire while tending traps and to use that weapon to dispatch any furbearing animal to be taken.
So what are others State law?

Louisiana law concerning dispatching of animals in traps:

"Furbearers can be taken only with traps. Firearms are illegal EXCEPT for dispatch
in a trap and as provided for to take nutria, coyote, bobcat, raccoon and opossum, which may be taken with firearms as per provisions below."

I really do wish Georgia would reword that for us guys operating inside the perimeter. I doubt the nice guys driving the greens trucks look real hard at that and understand why some of us go thump rather than bang.

In Wisconsin you cannot possess a fisher,otter,mink or muskrat that has been shot or speared.

Guessing they can only be caught by conibears?

No your expected to know what a death ray type device is or be ready to do a beat down.

Or snap a coni on there head.

Most laws like that were written before conibears were even in existence. Generally they assumed you were setting drowning sets for any aquatic furbearers (fisher I'm assuming got thrown in there because they are related to otter and mink, I'd love to see someone spear one that was NOT in a trap). Basically they didn't care about the extremely rare event when something went wrong, and you had to deal with a live otter. They just didn't want to have to prove that any of the listed furbearers were not in a trap before they were shot (or speared, although I've personally never known anyone who used a spear to dispatch trapped animals).

Yep Bearcat, Illinois recently changed its dispatch rule for shooting water fur bearers like otter and beaver. Old school understanding, wording and rules can limit a trapper at times.

MChewk. You are correct. Reading Understanding. NOT opinion. We had Alabama gamewarden telling. People all must be dispatched with 22 THATS not true. Or a half true. You could dispatch with death ray—- pick axe handle—— frying pan anything you want. Its says basically IF you use a weapon it must be rimfire. 17 or 22 would work. No 9mm 40 cal 357 or like that. Just rimfire. IF you use weapon. Confused lots of people

That is as it should be but we got desk jockeys here reading literal word for word because their brains don't work.

I “always” have a .22 on my hip or in the truck, but my Ketch-All “release” pole has been known to pull double duty and think it’s a Death Ray.
As far as GW’s are concerned, I’ve never run across one while trapping. Most likely because it’s all gated private land. But, when I’ve run across them at service stations with traps lined on my hitch haul, all they’ve ever asked is if I’m having any luck and to catch them all. None have ever asked where I’m trapping or asked to measure or check for tags. They’re all within the law and maybe they see that without having to physically check. I think they want the predators gone as much as the landowners and aren’t concerned with the “intricate” details of certain requirements.
I’ve even talked to some of our biologist and they’re all the same as their LEO counterparts…catch them all. They encourage trapping and since Georgia finally allows coons and possums year round, some of them have gotten into it. Not everyone wants to set footholds, but show them DP’s and the simplicity of it and they get onboard.

When I am tagging bobcats the game wardens never ask about what I am using or how I trap. I have steered the conversation to our stupid laws on snares a time or two and I always get the same response--everyone is already using them (they are illegal in Oklahoma).

Spearing refers to a long defunct method of taking muskrat
from inside their huts/lodges/pushups using a metal or wire rod/spear
to impale them from outside of the hut and pinning them in place rather
than using a trap.

A wire spear was run down thru the top of the intact hut to impale & pin
the rat in place, and then dig into the hut to retrieve the speared rat.

Very effective method that was out-lawed in New York State as a method of take.

Law Read: "It is unlawful to spear muskrat or possess their speared pelts".

walleyed

It's illegal to drive 56mphin a 55mph zone.

Especially when you thump an otter and it shakes it off and goes nuts never worried to much about that rule I shot any critter in the 80's except for an occasional live rat or mink wasn't getting bit

I think the requirement that you must carry a 22 here in Georgia is keeping young younger trappers from being able to trap. For instance my son when he was 16 he couldn’t carry the 22 and leave it in his truck he was in class at school. He also couldn’t keep things such as a knife ,hammer or his potato rake because it was assumed it was a weapon or could be used as a weapon. It turned out that the principal which was a new one the old one wouldn’t work at all with you helped him to trap because he was able to put the rake inside the cab of the truck and lock the door. It kept him from being able to trap before school and after school if he made sets that we’re live sets. He would
have to drive the 17 miles back to home pick up his rifle and then trap.
The law also made it where a convicted felon paid his penalty and was a good citizen in the community couldn’t trap animals in the state of Georgia. I know several men that are outstanding men now that are not allowed to trap.
Because of other laws in the state other means of dispatch as I understood illegal, No matter how humane it may be.
The income he got from trapping beaver was paramount to him being able to finish and graduate as an engineer from school.

Kirk that is sad had a gun in the truck at high school everyday of trapping season , never locked the doors and nothing was ever messed with always had classmates at the truck looking to see what I brought to school today

Have told my nuisance goose story for years....September nuisance goose season. After football practice me and some of the players would change into our camp grab the shotguns out our trucks that ere parked in the school lot and shoot goose behind the school!! Not any more...
Changing the law so a young trapper could dispatch a big coon, beaver or otter in the water was a good move.

Went to a small private school for high school and we’d check our weapons in at the principals office. Rifles…bolts removed. Shotguns open and visibly cleared, bows with quivers and arrows. Heck, we’d go squirrel hunting with our coach before school and leave early to shoot dove on days it was allowed. Coach called it a “field trip.”