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Fur Trapping
Each year approximately 10 million animals are trapped in the wild so that they can be skinned and turned into fur coats. The primary tools used by fur trappers to capture animals are the leghold trap, the body grip (Conibear) trap, and the wire snare.
Despite the fact that upwards of 74% of Americans oppose the use of the leghold trap, Congress has not yet banned its use. In fact, while the trap has been banned in 88 countries, only 8 states have passed legislation to prohibit leghold traps. This is despite volumes of documentation proving that leghold traps mutilate wild animals are non-selective in what they catch, and are a danger to peoples companion animals and children.
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The leghold trap is composed of two metal jaws, powered by high strength springs, that slam shut on an animals' paw when triggered. The initial impact of the steel jaws causes injury, but the majority of damage is caused as the animal struggles to break free. Within the first 30 minutes of capture, a trapped animal can tear her flesh, rip tendons, break bones and even knock out teeth as she bites at the trap.
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Before Sweden banned leghold traps, their government carried out a trapping campaign against foxes. Of the 645 foxes that were trapped, 514 were considered seriously injured. The trapped foxes had struggled desperately to get free and over 200 of them had knocked out teeth. The foxes had knocked out up to 18 teeth as they bit the traps in an effort to escape. Imagine the agony these animals feel...they have so much pain that they are willing to loose their teeth just to try to escape.
Some animals will even bite off their own limbs in a desperate attempt at freedom. The fact that an animal would severe her own limb shows how horrible the whole experience of being caught in a leghold trap really is. A study in Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge found that 27.6% of mink, 24% of raccoon, and 26% of trapped fox would actually bite their limbs off in hopes of surviving. Most probably died from blood loss, infection, and inability to hunt with an amputated limb.
This study was carried out over a 4 year period and involved many trappers with varying degrees of skill. Therefore, these percentages should be fairly indicative of what happens with the various species mentioned above.
Another study, conducted in 1980, found that 37% of raccoons mutilated themselves when caught in a leghold trap.
In a public relations move, the fur industry began production of the padded leghold trap. These padded traps consist of nothing more than a rubber strip across the jaws of the trap. The traps still have to close with the same force to hold a struggling wild animal. The trapped animal still has to wait in the trap for as long as 3 days, until the trapper returned. Furthermore, a 1995 study of coyotes trapped in padded leghold traps found that 97% of them experienced severe swelling to their legs, while 26% of them suffered from lacerations and fractures.
A different study was conducted in which 55 red foxes were caught in padded leghold traps. Out of the 55 animals, 25 suffered severe swelling, 23 suffered lacerations, 17 fractured their teeth, and 13 suffered from severance of tendons, abrasions, or fractures. Remember, these animals were caught in padded leghold traps! If the leghold trap is as much of an improvement as the industry says it is, then how on earth is the regular leghold trap still legal?
While causing extensive injury, leghold traps are not designed to kill an animal outright, but rather to restrain it until the trapper returns. State laws vary in regards to how long an animal can be left in a trap. Some states have no time limits, others mandate that traps be checked every 72 hours, 36 hours, and so on.
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Some animals in traps will be found dead from dehydration, blood loss, hypothermia, or other trap inflicted injuries. Some are even eaten by predators that come along and see an easy meal. Trappers kill animals that are still alive by shooting them in the head, stomping on them, or by beating their skulls in.
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Some leghold traps are actually set in a way as to kill an animal as opposed to restraining it. These are set in the water and are called "drowning sets". These are mostly reserved for beaver, muskrat, and mink. Trap researcher Fredrick Gilbert claims that these animals all struggled for 2-5 minutes, trying to survive. The average time length required to actually drown the animals was 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Some beavers would hold on for as long as 20 minutes before their lungs gave out.
The fur industry argues that these "drowning sets" are humane. This only shows that their definition of humane is quite different than that of the rest of society.
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Often times the traps will capture an species other than the one the trapper was targeting. These are referred to as trash animals and are generally killed and thrown away. Those that are released usually die shortly thereafter from trap inflicted injuries. These non-target animals regularly include companion dogs and cats, birds, squirrels, opossums, and even endangered species.
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Sometimes trappers will opt to use body grip traps instead of leghold traps. Body grip traps, commonly referred to as Conibears, are made of two rectangular frames. When the animals walks between these two frames they slam down and break the animals back or neck. It is advertised as an instant kill trap, but only 15% of its victims die within a short period of time. The rest wait in pain with broken backs, and other extreme injuries, until death finally sets in.
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Canadian trap researchers have tried to develop a body grip trap that kills the targeted animal within 5 minutes, 70% of the time. They have not been able to do so at this time. Instead, these traps mostly wound the animals, which linger for hours or days in great pain.
Susan Foster of New York was walking her dog when he ran into the bushes and was caught in a body grip trap. Susan testified in a written statement that her dog was in agony for 20 minutes. The trap was too strong for her to open. Susan could only struggle to free her dog as he writhed in pain until he eventually died.
What happened to Susan Foster's dog is not uncommon.
The fur industry admits that the body grip trap is unsafe. Hence the following quote:
"A major problem in that respect is that, unlike the vast uninhabited expanses in which most Canadian and Russian trappers operate, the proximity of the trapping grounds in the US to populated areas raises the threat to children and domestic animals."
Fur World, December 22, 1997
Only 3 states have banned the body grip trap.
The other commonly used fur trap is the snare. This is made of cable, and is shaped like noose. When the animal goes through the noose, she is caught. The more she struggles, the tighter the noose becomes. If the animal is caught around the neck it will eventually strangle her.
Seattle furrier Kimberely Anderson Cebe of Andersons Furs had this to say in the Oct. 17th, 1994 issue of Fur Age Weekly, an industry trade journal. "You say you support an alternative such as the 'footsnare', yet it is said to be one of the harshest methods of capture. It is known to completely cut off the blood supply to the limb, causing foot damage, tissue death and certain loss of the limb. The cable has the ability to cut like a knife. These facts are well documented with obvious results."
These words, coming straight from a member of the fur industry, show just how awful the snare really is.
 Fur trapping is a barbaric activity, done to supply people with an object of vanity, a fur coat. Clearly this animal suffering cannot be justified with such a frivolous end product. The suffering is multiplied when one considers the fact that an average of 40 animals must be killed to make one fur coat.
74% of Americans believe the leghold trap should be banned. If more people were exposed to these traps, that number would sky rocket. Trapping is indefensible, and should be banned today.
For more information on fur trapping:
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