Millions of Animals Across the U.S. Suffer Agonizing Deaths in Cruel Traps Just to Supply the Fashion Industry With Fur
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Prashant K. Khetan, AlterNet.org
January 2018

Inexplicably, trapping is even permitted on more than half of our national wildlife refuges.Th at’s more than half of 565 national wildlife refuges, on more than 850 million acres of federally-owned land and water: the most comprehensive and diverse collection of wildlife habitats in the world, home to more than 380 endangered species.

A beaver in upstate New York swims along an icy riverbank. It is an area familiar to him. It is his home. But today, there is something different about this setting: a body-gripping Conibear trap, placed under water at the entrance to his dam by a trapper earlier in the day. The beaver swims to enter his dam and—SNAP!—his body is suddenly caught in the trap.

His abdomen has been crushed. The pain is excruciating. The beaver struggles to free himself, but it's useless; the trap is too strong, and he loses strength and air with every passing moment.

One minute goes by. Then five. Then 10.

The beaver claws at the surface of the water, desperate for a breath. Finally, after 20 minutes of struggle and agony, he drowns. Sometime later, the trapper returns to check his traps and finds his victim lying dead in the water, still ensnared in the vicious trap.

A dead beaver in a trap.

This horrific scene plays out regularly all across the United States. Trappers lay down traps wherever animals live: on land, in water, and even in trees. In fact, some three to five million animals are trapped in this country each year by commercial fur trappers (and that figure does not even include the number of animals killed in the name of "wildlife control”).

These animals endure unimaginable pain and fear… and for what? They’re trapped for their fur, which is used for fur fashions. For vanity. And, sometimes, it’s simply for recreation. For “fun.” So much needless suffering. So many lives taken.

A hunter retrieves a dead beaver caught in a trap. Every year, millions of animals endure agonizing deaths in cruel traps across the U.S. (image: Scott Lough/Flickr)

Sadly, this beaver’s story may be one of the more humane ways to die in a trap. Contrary to the claims of "quick kills" made by trapping advocates, most animals are not instantly killed by the trap, but die slowly—by drowning, predation, exposure, shock, injury, or blood loss—sometimes after languishing for days. There are even tales of animals caught in traps left unchecked for multiple days, who feverishly attempt to chew off their own trapped limb to escape the terrible pain.

A coyote stuck in a leg trap.

It’s not just the animals targeted by trappers who suffer. Traps frequently capture unintended targets like domestic dogs and cats, endangered animals, and even children. In fact, it is estimated that, for every targeted animal trapped, two non-targeted animals are accidentally caught.

Is wildlife safe from trapping anywhere? Inexplicably, trapping is even permitted on more than half of our national wildlife refuges. That’s more than half of 565 national wildlife refuges, on more than 850 million acres of federally-owned land and water: the most comprehensive and diverse collection of wildlife habitats in the world, home to more than 380 endangered species. These “sanctuaries,” for the record, are your tax dollars at work. Each and every one of us is an unwitting stakeholder in a system that allows brutal trapping.

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