Think trapping regulations protect you? They don’t. A pet owner has no legal recourse to their companion being killed or injured in a legally set trap. And that’s not going to change any time soon. Theoretically, concerned citizens could appeal to lawmakers, but in this state, repeated attempts to beef up existing trapping regulations to make public lands safer for Montanans have been snuffed out by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission, and by pro-trapping legislators. The trapping lobby is firmly entrenched in Helena, always ready to fight to make sure that trapping remains one of the least regulated consumptive activities on Montana’s public lands.
- There is no trap check requirement in Montana. Trappers may not check their traps for days at a time. Read the stories of animals we know suffered alone in traps for several days. How many others suffer consecutive cold night struggling against steel jaws? You’re not going to find out from trappers, who have no incentive to report inhumane abuses. Can you imagine your family dog or cat, scared and vulnerable, with its legs snapped in a trap for four or five days—and bitter cold nights—at a time? Don’t let it happen. Know where your pets are. Know where traps are.
- Unlike hunting, with specified bag limits and seasons, trappers may trap all year long and kill as much wildlife as they wish. Only four furbearer species—bobcat, marten, river otter and wolverine—are subject to quotas. Every other animal in Montana—even endangered species—may be killed 365 days a year as by-catch in recreational trapping. Always keep you pet within your sight when recreating on public lands.
- Traps can be set within 30 feet of the centerline on publicly owned and maintained roads. Stand in the center of the road. Five steps will take you to the edge of the berm. Ten more steps and you're standing in legal trapping territory. The setback is 50 feet along open roads and hiking trails (designated by administrative signs or numbers) on federal and state lands.
- Traps can be set within 300 feet--a football field--of public trailheads. It could take your dog less than ten seconds to run from the cushy confines of the backseat to a body crushing Conibear trap.
- Traps can be set within 1,000 feet of campgrounds and occupied houses. Does this sound like a safe distance? At average speed, you’ll cover 1,000 feet in your first ten minutes of walking. Your dog could cover it in a minute.
- Anglers, floaters and tubers, be vigilant: traps may be set on the banks of any river or stream in the state, within the high water mark. If your dog steps in a water trap, designed to drown its prey, chances are you won’t be able to reach the animal in time to save its life.
Download complete Montana 2007 Trapping Regulations (1.5 MB)