Dog caught in illegal trap, resulting in death
Southampton, NY (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Dec 25, 2005
County: Suffolk
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
A midday walk through a nature preserve turned deadly on December 25, 2005. Jeffrey, a "sweet, sweet dog," according to Michelle Forrester of the Animal Rescue Fund in Wainscott, was killed in what appears to be an illegal hunting trap.
Investigation into the case has been handed over to officers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. According to local enforcement officers, Gail Murphy of Montauk was walking Jeffrey near Long Pond off Sagg Road in Southampton Town. Don Bambrick, the Southampton Town Animal Shelter Supervisor, reported that the woman and her dog were walking close to the water's edge and the pet stuck his head into some brush where the trap was hidden. "The pet owner arrived in our office frantic with the trap on the dog's head," Forrester informed. The animal, which ARF rescued from the Bahamas after Hurricane Francis in 2004, was killed.
By law, traps are supposed to have tags that identify the owner, a DEC spokesperson Gabrielle DeMarco said. The agency is working with Southampton Town Police to track down the owner of the trap. According to Bambrick, town enforcement officers are also checking the area to make sure there aren't any more traps hidden.
Aspects of the trap's placement will also be investigated, DeMarco said. It was reportedly located in a town nature preserve. Bambrick said he didn't believe trapping is permitted in a nature preserve. The town does allow pets in preserves, but they must be under the owner's control at all times, meaning leashed. It was uncertain whether Jeffrey was on a leash.
People still trap for fur locally, Bambrick said. "Years ago, quite a lot of people did it." Traps are also used by nuisance wildlife trappers who kill animals, such as raccoons, that get into people's houses.
Jeffrey was killed by a type of trap known as a conibear. It's generally a heavy square instrument baited in the middle, Betsey Bambrick of East Hampton Town Animal Control, which responded to ARF. The trap is designed to snap shut when an animal puts its head in to grab bait. "It comes down really quickly and immediately kills the animal," Bambrick explained. The neck of the intended target is snapped but the pelt remains unscathed. Describing the power of the trap, Bambrick said that if a child stepped in it, "He'd probably lose a foot." She and her husband both suspect that, because of the water's edge location of the trap, the target was probably muskrat.
In Southampton, Don Bambrick has found cases of traps gone awry before. Twice in the past he's discovered raccoons caught in the traps, their legs clamped in the metal jaws. He suspects nuisance trappers set the snares incorrectly. In the other cases, the traps were found on private property. East Hampton Town is currently reviewing its hunting regulations. According to Betsey Bambrick, community members have voiced opposition to trap hunting at some sites. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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