Trapper protection

I've heard from friends and people who teach the state trapping class that, "Trappers are protected."

Now where is this legal documentation? Does anyone have it?

My concern: There is a road running next to some of my property. I like to trap on the edges of that property. Hopefully no one's pet ever got caught in my traps as they were walking it. But if that did happen, what legality can trappers use to say: 1.) It's trapping season 2.) It's my property 3.) You're trespassing.

Now I do not have no-trespassing signs up because I find them antithetical to how humans should behave but I don't think that negates any legality with regard to trapping.

Thanks.

The lawyer couple in St Louis had a protected right to defend their home and their person but look what they are going thru.

I say signs are cheap insurance that might lesson your exposure in a time when public servants and the court system seem to now allow, in at least some cases, the prosecution and civil lawsuits aimed at protected freedoms.

JMO anyway

Thanks. I don't think the legality changes (someone correct me if I'm wrong) if I put up a sign. I have my traps marked with orange tape.

I was just wondering if there were some type of law

Why would you plan on trapping where you might catch somebody's pet? You should put some warning signs or posted signs up.

I'm not. It's road, people take walks. Legitimate concern.

Again I don't think NYS law changes if you use the signs or you don't.

I'm under no obligation to protect anyone's dog. That responsibility is the dog owners. Which to me means you have the right to place traps anywhere you choose on your property without fear of government action against you.

Same way.I feel about masks.

That sounds like a good way to say it. That you "are under no obligation to protect someone's dog." Which is true. Thanks.

In Kentucky we have a leash law. If the dog is off leash and gets caught in your trap it’s the owners problem.

THIS POST WILL YEALD NO Answers that the OP will agree on.

Just saying

I don't understand what you wrote.

You should look up the legal statutes for your state. I know that here People are legally allowed to be on private property unless you have signs up or painted fence posts in certain places on a fence, or locked gates, or have warned a person to keep off the property.

You need to research liability laws for private property and signage laws pertaining to trespassing for your particular state and that will give you a definitive answer, or at least a basis on which to defend yourself should a situation arise.

No doubt about it- none

I have no idea what this means. I asked a simple question which to date no one has answered. I even thanked multiple people for their answer where it applied.

From NY DEC website -



Similar to most hunter harrassment laws.

I read that earlier, thanks. I still stand behind my question. Maybe I'll ask the lawyer for the NYS Trappers Assoc. I think they have one.

I'm looking for that "protection" people have told me about. Is it written down somewhere? This is not a crazy question. I just wanted to know if it existed.

Your 'protection' is your right to trap , legally.

The NY state conservation officers will help you protect that right. Nothing more. If you are following all good BMP' s and following the law to the letter in good faith, your local C.O. will have your back mostly.

If someone's dog violates a leash law and ends up in one of your traps , I bet they can still sue even if the owner is in the wrong.
If the owner of the dog destroys the trap and finds other ones and does the same , they may have a issue with your local C.O. and face legal actions by the state against them but can probably still sue you. However when you go to court the C.O. may get called in to testify in your behalf as to the fact you have violated no laws or BMP's.
This makes the lawsuit against you much harder to prove malice on your behalf.

Just like a burglar can sue you after breaking into your house. Burglar completely in the wrong , but some have actually gotten a settlement for this.

I don’t know that there is any law or regulation that specifically protects a trapper. I do believe there are laws that protect anybody engaged in legal activity from being sued by folks who sustained injury while engaged in illegal activity. Then again, I guess anybody can sue anybody else for anything.

I trap in an area where people seem to think they can walk their dogs down any old Farm Lane they want without even knowing who the owner of the property is. This has led to several non-target catches. Two of them in the last two years where the owners threatened to sue me.

In one case the owner of the non-target knew the traps were there and walked the dog into them anyhow. He stole my traps and left me a nasty letter saying I was going to pay the vet bills and he was calling the state police and the Pennsylvania game commission. I left him a note and suggested that he use the trapper identification number on the tags attached to the traps he stole when he reported this to the PGC.

The idiot did it and I ended up successfully prosecuting him for trap tampering and theft. His threat about me paying the veterinary bills was an empty threat. He never went to a vet, the dog was not injured.

In the second case a husband and wife were trespassing on a farm and the dog got caught. She could not release him and got bit trying so she went and got her hubby. He could not release him and also got bit trying. They pulled the stake and took the whole thing to a vet who pushed down on the levers, released the dog and charged them a hefty after hours fee.

They called the PGC and threatened to sue me. The officers went to their house, recovered my trap and then went to see the landowner. He told them the dog walkers had no business on his property and I did. The landowner told the officers I had permission to trap there and had been doing so for 15 years.

The officers went back to the dog walkers house and told them that they were not going to press charges this time but that they should keep off the property. Then they came to my house and returned my traps and told me the whole story.

So, from my perspective, if you are doing nothing illegal, you have nothing to worry about.

Edit: I am aware of the no non-target catch rule. But it was necessary to make my point. If the boss or the mods think it is inappropriate, please remove.

Thanks! Great help.

Yes I still want to see something in writing. I think it should be there and I'm going to see it out I think at some point.

Everything I'm doing is legal. I just like to have legal ammunition in case I need it. I do this with everything in life and I think it's a good way to operate.

I trap in NY and there is a law about being 100 feet from Road some where in the law book. I do not have a book now to look at.......jk

Jk Nevada has a similar law, but it’s 200 feet and doesn’t apply to privately owned land.

Bob do you still have 2 guns one for each of you.
I like that saying

You may well have the law on your side and may not get into any legal issues, but there are also the non-legal aspects of dealing with society in a way that minimizes negative encounters. Every state or even local governmental unit may have very different road right away issues, setbacks etc. If you own the property that goes to the road and you trap those areas, there could well be trails and signs further away from the road to make your sets with less concern about incidental incidents.

Bryce

You kill pets and you will lose in the court of public opinion. Try to avoid it!

That's for body grips only.

That is in regard to designated foot trails...

As far as your first question nyhuntfish, I am not quite sure what question you are asking...There is protection for landowners who allow trapping and other recreational pastimes, called the General Obligations Law. Is this what you are referring to??

I'm almost afraid to keep talking about this as some of the responses concerned me. People don't like to have conversations I guess.

To answer your question, as I noted in my original post I was told "Trappers are protected by the state." Now, maybe that meant "legally like anybody else," I don't know. But if there were documentation (from the state, as part of a law) somehow that were part of the state record which we could draw-upon and say.... print out (and hand out if needed), that would be very helpful.

And if that documentation (protection for trappers) did not exist, then it should be written. A note on the DEC website does not count. Especially since trapping isn't "playing frisbee." There really needs to be some type of legal "appendage" to a law when you're talking about people in the woods killing animals for conservation where about 1,000 different variables exist unlike hunting-for-the-most-part.

When I’m teaching a young man or woman to trap. I tell them once they have located the spot for their set. The first question they should ask themselves is. “Will this set have a negative impact on how trapping is viewed by the general public” if the answer is a maybe or anything other than a 100% NO then move or use different equipment. Doesn’t matter if it is legal. Doesn’t matter if it’s your own property. Doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter.....

I've walked away from a lot of good sets, that would have been completely legal due to this.

Okay nyhuntfish, I believe you are referring to ECL section 11-110 as follows:

§ 11-0110. Interference with lawful taking of wildlife prohibited.
1. As used in this section “wildlife” means wild game and all other
animal life existing in a wild state, including fish, shellfish and
crustacea, and “process of taking”, in addition to any act described in
subdivision thirteen of section 11-0103 of this article, includes
travel, camping, and other acts preparatory to taking, which occur on
lands or waters upon which the affected person has the right or
privilege to take such wildlife.
2. A person is guilty of interfering with the lawful taking of
wildlife when, with intent to prevent the taking of wildlife, in season,
in a place where hunting, fishing or trapping is lawful, and by a person
properly licensed to take such wildlife, he:
(a) strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects the licensed person
to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same; or
(b) follows the licensed person in or about such place and engages in
a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which alarm or seriously
annoy such licensed person and which serve no legitimate purpose.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no one
shall be arrested for violation of this section by other than a duly
designated peace officer acting pursuant to his special duties, or a
police officer.

That is true to some extent and is good, common sense. For instance; I would never set a State Game Land heavily stocked with pheasants where I know there will be dozens of hunters with their dogs even though it would be perfectly legal for me to do so. It would be very productive as well because those pheasants are fox and coyote magnets.

But that would just be a stupid move that would cause a lot of headaches for all involved and would certainly cast a bad light on trappers and trapping.

However, if I stopped trapping every farm in my area where there was a possibility of a non-target catch due to trespassing dog-walkers, I’d probably have to quit trapping altogether. I’m a canine trapper and my locations are mostly long, two-track, tractor trails. I’m not going to stop trapping because of trespassers with no respect for the landowner.

As I posted above, in the last two years I’ve been threatened with lawsuits twice because of non-target catches. In one case I was able to successfully prosecute the offender and in the other the offending couple was warned by law-enforcement to stay off the property. Hopefully, in both cases, the individuals involved learned hard lessons in legality and respect for private property.

Thanks!

signs are cheap

Agreed. Legal v. Prudent are two very different things

If trappers bend to every whim of “public opinion” we will loose the “legal” right to trapping altogether. There comes a time when we stand up, do what we do and let the chips fall where they may.

I have called the game commission and the local sheriffs department and have gotten the same response about dogs roaming my personal land.

Private land is just that. Private.

TRUTH