Posted on 04/29/2012 7:21:02 AM PDT by SmithL
The day began with a drive across the desert, checking the snares he had placed in the sagebrush to catch coyotes.
Gary Strader, an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stepped out of his truck near a ravine in Nevada and found something he hadn't intended to kill.
There, strangled in a neck snare, was one of the most majestic birds in America, a federally protected golden eagle.
"I called my supervisor and said, 'I just caught a golden eagle and it's dead,' " said Strader. "He said, 'Did anybody see it?' I said, 'Geez, I don't think so.'
"He said, 'If you think nobody saw it, go get a shovel and bury it and don't say nothing to anybody.' "
"That bothered me," said Strader, whose job was terminated in 2009. "It wasn't right."
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
That body-grip thing gives me ideas about how to deal with the recurring beaver invasions into the community silt basin ~ could take care of those dogs people think they get to run down in the bottom.
We are from the government. Shut up and pay your taxes. Move along.
A total BS article.
It’s not “nothing to anybody” ~ that’s so fey. The correct expression is “nuttin’ ta’ nobodies”
Trapped and snared for years and never caught anything I wasn’t targeting. That wildlife fellow must have had baits near that snare. Golden Eagles nor Baldies go traveling down trails especially brushy well disguised crawl throughs that coyotes use. The whole story is not being told by the “ex” disgruntled wildlife employee.
New to trapping are ya?
Likely was trapping before you were born.
A leg-hold trap doesn’t kill anything unless it it set as a ‘drown set’ near water.
When I was growing up on a ranch in eastern Colorado we lost two wonderful German Shepherds to the cyanide guns the government trapper placed on a sheepman’s land just across a barb-wire fence from our land. We had no idea the guns were there.
Our beagles (interesting that you have that as a screen name) had the full run of our farm. Someone set out a number of these traps to catch beaver...even on our property (without our knowledge). He also didn’t check the traps very regularly. Our favorite beagle got caught in one and chewed part of his own leg off to get out. We had been looking and calling for him for days. He limped home extremely weak...and simply laid down on the dirt farm road when the kids(who had noticed him arriving) began to run toward him yelling. The dog was not killed....but was very injured and had suffered quite a bit. It was summer and tropically HOT!
“He said, ‘If you think nobody saw it, go get a shovel and bury it and don’t say nothing to anybody”
Well at least he has a rudimentary understanding of the theory of shoot, shovel and shut up. LOL!!!
Been trapping for close to 50 years and the only thing I’ve ever had seen killed by a leg hold were a couple of pack rats, two cottontails and one quail. We’ve got 32 sections of ranch with over 100 miles of fence on it, when I see a slide under the fence I put in a #3 Victor dual coil. I’ve got about 40 #3’s out and close to 50 snares, don’t much care for predators on a cattle ranch.
Right you are. Sorry to hear of your dog.
ANYONE with any actual knowledge of leghold knows that almost every animal will do the very same to free themsleves.
I beleive I would be waiting to talk with the ass that put traps on my place, after I had wrecked them all.
SSS is not just a theory, its a practice, didn’t know it was a gubmint program.
“He said, ‘If you think nobody saw it, go get a shovel and bury it and don’t say nothing to anybody.’ “
“That bothered me,” said Strader, whose job was terminated in 2009. “It wasn’t right.”
Also sounds like typical government inflation: much more economical to just say, “shoot, shovel, & shut-up!” Or, in this case, “remove, shovel, and shut-up.”
Put a reasonable bounty on the varmints that need to be controlled. Problem solved.
Beaver traps should have been in the water where no dog would have gotten in it.
I've had a couple beagles get caught in leg-hold traps and except for a sore foot for a day or so they were no worse for the wear.
I don't allow snares on my property and will only allow body grip traps off the ground for raccoons. ( bucket sets where the trap is in a 5 gal pail.)
Just curious, how would you go about releasing a snarling coyote or wolverine as the article mentioned?
“Releasing non-target animals
Non-target animals should be released from the trap. If the animal is small enough, cover it with a wash tub or heavy blanket, pull the trap out and release the animal. A catch pole with a sliding loop that is placed over the animal’s head also works well.
Another method of releasing larger animals is to lay just enough brush, limbs or poles over the animal to pin it down so it can’t reach the person releasing it. When done with just enough pressure to pin down the animal but not to injure it, this method is the safest and least stressful on the animal and the trapper.”
http://mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/trapping/trapping-coyotes
I myself would never release a coyote, the only good yote is a dead one.
Everyone in our county agrees that traps SHOULD be checked every 24 hours...but...
The law here in Tennessee is as follows:
**All trapping devices must be clearly marked with the owner’s name. All traps must be inspected every 36 hours or less and animals removed. When trapping on another’s property, the trapper must carry on his or her person written permission from the landowner, and make a written report to the owner of any domestic animal caught and pay damages for those animals.**
Unfortunately, there ARE those who break the law and ...without a name....it’s hard to prosecute. Our farm is in a very rural area and is quite large. It is surrounded on three sides by woodlands and has many springs, creeks and a small lake.
Click the link in post #24 and click the video link at the bottom of the page.
That shows how responsible trapping works and animals are released unharmed from leg-hold traps.
I have never blamed *responsible* trappers for anything.
As a matter of fact, we live-trapped a huge raccoon that was wreaking havoc around the barn in its attempts to get into the feed. The Wildlife authorities then took this animal and released him quite far away.
My whole point on this thread was that the article was BS in what it said about leg-hold traps.
They must be immediately released or dispatched. They don't want problem animals ( other than domestic and protected species) relocated to be a problem somewhere else.
The animal I referred to was released near a river in a conservation area. There was no one near who could be subjected to similar problems. Our Wildlife Service guys are terrific here in Tennessee. They know what they are doing and why. They know the area VERY well and they exercise a great deal of common sense. The good vets know them and work with them...as do the land owners. It’s a healthy and beneficial relationship all around.
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