Otter trap claims Kodiak dog
Published Friday, January 9, 2009
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Stumble It!KODIAK, Alaska (AP) - A Kodiak man's dog was killed after it got caught in a trap.
Mike Hansen lost his dog Jan. 1 after it strayed into an otter trap.
He said he unsuccessfully tried to rescue Matches, his 50-pound, 7-year old dog.
Hansen, who sometimes traps, blames trappers for being negligent for setting traps near areas where people run their dogs.
State wildlife biologist Larry Van Daele says pet owners and trappers both should be aware of the trapping seasons. He also says it's important for pet owners to understand how traps function if there is an emergency.
Van Daele says trappers have an obligation to safeguard against such occurrences, but there are no restrictions on where trappers can set traps during appropriate seasons.
Community Discussion
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I am 100% pro-trapping. I have a beaver fur hat and a ruff on the hood of my parka. I'm hoping to make a pair of real mukluks out of the next caribou or 2 that we get. Nonetheless, it is way past time that the State Board of Game or Borough governments or whoever has jurisdiction started setting regulations disallowing trapping where there is a lot of public use of an area! A dog was brutally killed in Dillingham and it was ON LEASH. I sympathize with trappers that areas available to trapping are shrinking. That's life! It isn't a good thing, but it is a reality. I can't access my ski trails the same way anymore either because of increased housing in this area.
Alaska needs to set laws that benefit the majority of its citizens. Why is the entire general public of Kodiak or Dillingham or Fairbanks or wherever told that they have to discontinue their normal, every day activities during trapping season so that an individual trapper can keep trapping along a public thoroughfare. The trappers are just going to have to go further out.
I am a trapper. I once trapped on Kodiak Island.
My ex was a musher and we had no problems keeping all our 20+ dogs in our yard and under control. (you have to for fear of Parvo)
There are no bad dogs - just bad dog owners. Kodiak Island has a leash law. The same idiots who let dogs wander into these traps are also the same idiots responsible for letting their dogs chase down deer. Not to mention killing young birds and other animals in the spring.
People who own dogs need to 'man up'.
I absolutely agree - no bad dogs, only bad dog owners. I keep complete control over my dog, but not always on leash. When living in Kodiak, I ran my dog from the truck on Anton Larsen Bay Rd. He was not on leash and did occasionally stop in the woods to pee. Did he deserve to die in a trap because he was under voice control and needed to pee in the woods? Did the dog who was on leash in Dillingham deserve to die because he stepped 1 foot off of the road into a conibear trap? Do the citizens of every town in Alaska deserve to have to quit their harmless activities - running their dogs, skijoring, etc. - during trapping season so that an individual trapper can continue to catch his handful of animals? I don't think so. We need a compromise. There should be a regulation that limits trapping in areas of high public use.
I am in full support of trapping. But the pet owners and the trappers should both take responsibility. The trapper should have marked the trap better. Maybe tie some floresent tape about eye level above the trap so people will have a better idea where they are.
The article didn't mention wether the trail was marked as a trapping trail or not. I would like to know.
Happened to me, too. I frequent the same areas year after year, usually without any trapper activity...till recent years. I've tripped traps and snares set directly alongside a public trail only a feet away from areas with high kid activity. And I've removed my dogs from snares that were similarly set.
Nothing wrong with a trappers right to pursue their hobby, but common sense goes hand in hand with common courtesy.
Oh, and many of these traps/snares were not marked; I recognized the sets because I was raised by a trapper.
MrsS
Under state law, trappers don't have to mark their traps except in a very few cases in specific areas. My dog got caught in a snare on MY property. The snare was unmarked and set without my permission.
It's time that the state and borough recognizes that all citizens have rights and that with those rights come responsibilities. Dog owners should keep their dogs under control at all times, trappers should only set in reasonable places away from the public. Boroughs should set laws disallowing trapping in neighborhoods, along roads, and along trails that are highly used by the public. Or, at least create a buffer and disallow trapping within 50 feet of trails.
It is unacceptable that people's dogs are getting caught while on leash, within feet of their owner, and the ADFG's comment is that citizens should know when trapping season starts and ends. Why do trappers have more rights and less responsibility than everyone else?
I am a very avid trapper. All reasonable, responible, and ethical trappers should have the common sense to not place snares or connibears in or near urban areas or where the likelyhood of domesticate animals is a possibility.
Additionally, all reasonable, responsible and ethical dog owners should exhibit the common sense to not allow thier furry companions to run around off a leash except in those areas designated for such activities.
Trappers have no more or no less rights or responsibility than everyone else. To say they do or don't is intellectually dishonest.
I don't know all the facts of this particular instance and I seriously doubt any of us do. But this story doesn't mention the dog is on a leash and mentions the owner himself is a trapper. It also mentions this was in an otter set.
Purely specualtating here, but if his dog was on a leash then I doubt he is a trapper,(A trapper would have noticed an Otter run or toilet immediately thus recognized a possible set) if he can't remove a 220, 330 connibear or snare I doubt he is a trapper.
But if he is a trapper then I would speculate his dog was off a leash and he was out beyond the owners line of sight.
Another possibility is to just state he is a trapper when this occurred as thier might be another agenda.
Again, all is specualtion as the story above leaves out critical information.
Restrictions arent neccessary, common sense is on both parties.
poor dog :(
There otter be something we can do to prevent this.
Alaska's a big friggin' state, there's a lot of room out there to set traps where people and domesticated animals aren't going to stumble into them. If these "trappers" weren't so lazy that they can't take a trip off the beaten path to set their traps, then they don't deserve to pursue their hobby. It's ridiculous what passes for hunting (shooting from the road, come on) around here. Personally I'm sick of all these so-called "sportsmen" who can't even be bothered to leave town to hunt or trap. Just save yourself the hassle and go to Fred Meyer's for your meat. Outlaw trapping and hunting inside borough limits I say, if these jokers can't be responsible enough to get off their butts and stop putting kids and pets in danger...a short drive up the Elliot or down gthe Parks or Richardson isn't too much to ask
Caligula-
Been trapping in Alaska for years, can't tell you how many times out on the beaten path my trapline has been run by mushers and folks curious to as why a trail is in the middle of nowhere.
Traps have been stolen and sets disturbed. Maybe if those lazy folks that don't trap or can't afford to pay for their dog food on their own would stop stealing traps maybe some trappers wouldn't be so hard pressed by fuel prices compounded by thieves to go well outside of town.
And no one made you the "decider".. that decider attitude was brought up to Alaska from the lower 48. If life is too rough for you up here then you need to take your unwelcomed decider attitude back to California or New York.
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