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| Photo: Leg hold trap |
Written by Peter McIntyre Wednesday, 15 February 2012 11:40 Several Vernon council members support a ban on body-gripping wildlife traps. The request for a bylaw outlawing the devices was made by two delegations at Monday's city council meeting. There was also two letters to council in support. Gina Son of Grindrod told council, the traps are cruel, outdated, and pose a safety risk to residents and their pets. "In my research, I have discovered that under provincial
law, traps can be set 200metres from a dwelling. Trapping is so
problematic, that a handful of other communities have banned traps
including North Vancouver, North Cowichan, Victoria, North Saanich,
Gibsons and just recently Sechelt passed a bylaw traps." Son urged council to pass a bylaw to ban all
body-gripping traps, including the leg-hold, Conibear and snare trap,
and to implement non-lethal options for wildlife control. Vernon resident Richard Long made a similar case in his presentation,
calling the traps "barbaric," although he wasn't aware of any local
examples of the traps being used in the city of Vernon. Council will discuss the request at its next meeting February 27th. Councillor Bob Spiers thinks they should be banned, and he urges the
concerned residents to make a similar request to the Regional District
of North Okanagan. "Why stop at Vernon? If you think it's a (worthwhile) thing, go to
the whole regional district.They might use them out there more than in
Vernon." Mayor Rob Sawatzky is surprised there hasn't been a city bylaw before
this, noting small kids or pets could get caught in the traps. "It just doesn't seem logical. A small child could get into them, or
pets. I just can't understand how one could justify not having a bylaw." Sawatzky says city bylaw officers only use live traps to capture any problem wildlife.
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