Think trapping regulations protect you?
They don’t. A pet owner has no legal recourse when their companion animal is killed or injured in a legally set trap. Long-standing trapping regulation makes it illegal for a person to even disturb a legally-set trap. Thus, the very act of your pet getting caught in and you trying to remove your pet from a trap is illegal in Montana. And that’s not going to change any time soon. Theoretically, concerned citizens could appeal to lawmakers, but in this state, repeated attempts to beef up existing trapping regulations to make public lands safer for Montanans have been quashed by the Fish & Game Commission and by pro-trapping legislators. The trapping lobby is firmly entrenched in both the Commission and Montana Legislature and is always ready to fight to make sure that laws favor the activity of trappers - not the vast majority of citizens - on Montana’s public lands. |
general requirements for traps set on public land...-- 50 ft. setback from official trails & open roads (does not apply to traps set in water or 4 ft. above ground) -- 300 ft. setback from marked/designated trail heads -- traps must have metal trapper ID tag attached |
The state of Montana has fought legal action to protect endangered Canada lynx.
Trapping regulations were forced to change to better protect lynx from dying in and being injured by traps. "District 1 [Fish & Game] Commissioner Gary Wolfe tried to insert the MTA [Montana Trappers Association] specifications as an amendment to the commission’s vote [on accepting the lawsuit settlement]." --Laura Lundquist, Montana on the Ground, 2015 |
Dave Loewen, a FWP warden sergeant here in Helena, said Tuesday that he has heard the ongoing discussion sparked by the signs warning trail users of trapping.
Posting of signs to warn of trapping is not required and the trapper is doing this as a courtesy, Loewen said, adding that trapping has been going on in the national forest outside of the city park for years as no signs were posted.
Anytime someone is hiking on public ground, he continued, there is always the possibility someone else may be trapping, he added.
Posting of signs to warn of trapping is not required and the trapper is doing this as a courtesy, Loewen said, adding that trapping has been going on in the national forest outside of the city park for years as no signs were posted.
Anytime someone is hiking on public ground, he continued, there is always the possibility someone else may be trapping, he added.