Q+A: Activist discusses poll supporting tighter laws on trapping

Ten years ago, Trish Swain was walking with a fellow member of the Sierra Club when her friend mentioned that her dog had recently become caught in a trap designed to catch fur-bearing animals, like bobcats.

Not long after, Swain came across a news story about a similar incident. That led to more conversations, which resulted in Swain becoming an advocate for stricter trapping regulations.

Today, she’s the director of TrailSafe Nevada, a grass-roots organization that advocates for protection and humane treatment for wildlife and pets.

After the release of a poll this week (see below) showing that more than two-thirds of Nevadans support stricter regulations on traps, Swain spoke with the Sun. Excerpts from the conversation follow:

You’re anticipating that there will be a legislative proposal this year on trapping. What kind of regulations are you seeking?

We’ve been pushing for some things since 2013, starting with trap registration. Because how can you have any enforcement of any regulations unless the Department of Wildlife has a way to check who set the trap? We have had wardens come out to a situation and have to do a stakeout to figure out who owns the trap. Sometimes they’re out there literally for several shifts, like 130 hours, and the trapper never shows up. That’s not effective enforcement. Owners of trapped pets also need a way to hold someone liable for damages.

What’s the pushback you get on registration?

Their point of view does not make any logical sense to me at all. They think somebody will steal that trap, and the person who steals it will commit a violation and the owner of the trap will get in trouble. I’ve checked with the Department of Wildlife, and there have been exactly four cases of stolen or missing traps the entire time I’ve been involved in this.

Do other states require registration?

Thirty-eight states require not only registration of traps, but usually you’re supposed to put your ID on them — your name and phone number.

How does a person know where a trap is?

This is tentative, but it will probably include on our bill that we need some sort of markings or warnings for traps. We’ve brought this up before. (Trappers) have answered that somebody will steal their traps or somebody will go and close all their traps. But 80 percent of Nevadans want to know there’s a trap out there.

I know the legislation is tentative, but what concerns do you anticipate you’ll bring to the table?

Under Nevada law, you only have to check your traps every four days, and the norm in the U.S. is only 24 hours. Also, there’s a law that stipulates a $100 fine for moving or closing a trap if it is legally set. But there needs to be a clear statute saying that if the trap poses an obvious risk of harm, there’s no fine. Today, you’re supposed to contact a warden and get a ruling on whether a trap is legally set, even if your dog gets caught in one. But who’s going to do that? The animal is stressed, it’s probably going to take a long time for the warden to arrive and in some places you can’t get cell reception.

The language in the poll is pretty graphic. Do you anticipate getting criticism that the poll is leading?

No. 1, the survey describes what trapping is in clear language. Now, how are you going to make that sound good? If somebody can describe that so it sounds good, then by all means, do it. Also, if we put out a survey that just referred to trapping and didn’t explain what trapping is, people might not have understood that. Is it a mousetrap? We are talking about traps used for commercial and recreational trapping.

Finally, we didn’t do this to convince our opposition. This is for the media and the public to understand what trapping is.

Poll results

Note: The following telephone poll of 1,461 statewide Nevada voters was conducted Jan. 25-26, 2017, by Remington Research Group on behalf of TrailSafe Nevada and the Humane Society of the United States. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence.

In Nevada, commercial and recreational trapping is legal on public lands. Body-gripping devices used include steel-jaw leghold traps, which are powered by strong springs that slam the trap’s jaws shut on an animal; wire or cable snares, which trap the animal in a loop that tightens and is designed to kill through strangulation; and body-crushing traps, often called Conibear traps, which are designed to kill an animal quickly. Do you support or oppose allowing the use of body-gripping traps on public lands in Nevada?

Oppose: 56 percent, Support: 25 percent, Unsure: 20 percent

Most states require traps to display information identifying the trap owner. In Nevada, traps are not required to have any identification or registration information. Do you support or oppose requiring traps to display information identifying the trap owner?

Support: 68 percent, Oppose: 22 percent, Unsure: 10 percent

In most of Nevada, traps are required to be checked only once every 96 hours. Many states, including Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, require traps used for commercial or recreational trapping to be checked once every 24 hours. Animals left in traps for longer periods of time suffer greater injury, and may suffer from thirst, hunger, and exposure to harsh weather conditions and predators. Do you support or oppose requiring trap checks once every 24 hours in Nevada?

Support: 77 percent, Oppose: 17 percent, Unsure: 6 percent

In Nevada, locations where a trapper has placed a trap are not required to be marked to alert others to where traps are located. This can present a danger for people and pets whose owners don’t know that there are traps set nearby. Do you support or oppose requiring warning flags or signs for traps in Nevada?

Support: 80 percent, Oppose: 15 percent, Unsure: 4 percent

In Nevada, between one and two thousand bobcats are trapped annually for the fur trade. Bobcat pelts are often sold for hundreds of dollars per pelt. The Nevada Department of Wildlife tracks the number of bobcats killed but does not have a recent census of the state’s bobcat population. Do you support or oppose the trapping of bobcats for their pelts?

Oppose: 59 percent, Support: 28 percent, Unsure: 13 percent

In Nevada, it is unlawful to remove or disturb a legally set trap. Do you support or oppose allowing citizens to remove or disturb traps that pose an immediate threat to public safety, for example, if your pet or child is caught in, or is in imminent danger of being caught in, a trap?

Support: 68 percent, Oppose: 21 percent, Unsure: 11 percent

Nevada regulations designate that some areas are closed to hunting and trapping. However, areas adjacent to places such as archaeological sites, historical sites, State Parks, Great Basin National Park, hiking and biking trails, and horse riding trails are not closed to hunting and trapping, potentially placing people and their animals at risk. Do you support or oppose banning trapping within a one mile radius of these types of sites?

Support: 68 percent, Oppose: 23 percent, Unsure: 9 percent