No place for pet-killing traps
Times Colonist
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Traps capable of killing or maiming cats and dogs have no place in urban areas. Common sense and common decency should be enough to ensure unwanted animals are removed in the most humane way.
Sadly, the trapping of a cat in a Saanich neighbourhood suggests laws are needed to prevent such unnecessary cruelty.
Ginger, the pet of Rory Bruce and Rebecca Walsh, had to be euthanized after being caught in a Conibear trap not far from home. Under current provincial legislation and Saanich bylaws, the use of the trap in a residential neighbourhood was entirely legal.
The device, invented by trapper Frank Conibear and refined after he moved to Victoria in the 1930s, was sold as a humane alternative to the leg-hold trap. Deaths was supposed to be instant. The traps were intended partly to help the image of the fur trade.
In practice, the Conibear can bring a painful death, particularly if animals are smaller or larger than the trap was designed for. Limbs and organs are crushed; death is slow and horrible.
Pests need to be controlled and traps are part of the solution. Few homeowners would welcome a rat colony under the deck and poison is not always a safe option.
But this kind and size of trap has no place in any residential or urban area. It is an indiscriminate weapon, dangerous to dogs, cats and children.
The critical issue is the power of the trap. A cat or dog might be stung by a rat trap, but they won't likely suffer broken bones or permanent injury. A Conibear, with its powerful springs, can kill a dog the size of a terrier.
It appears no law has been broken in Ginger's death. The province's recently bolstered animal cruelty law doesn't apply. Nor does a Saanich bylaw banning leg-hold traps and snares.
Saanich and other municipalities should update their bylaws to prohibit all killing traps over a set size.
People bothered by other animals -- including roaming cats and dogs -- have the option of renting or buying a live trap, capturing the animal and taking it to the pound.
Better yet, pet owners should keep their animals under control and resolve differences with neighbours before any action is taken.
We don't allow shooting a firearm at pests in the city. We shouldn't allow the use of traps that might harm or kill pets either.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008