For the second time in recent months, badly maimed animals have been discovered trapped in "horrific" leg-hold traps in Vancouver – prompting a reward for information and renewed calls for a ban.
Two raccoons were brought to the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. Tuesday suffering from injuries from being caught in the traps, which are illegal and considered "archaic" by advocates.
The young female was found near the intersection of busy Broadway and Burrard Street, and the older male was picked up by BC SPCA workers near West 41st Avenue and Marine Drive with two leg-holds still on his feet.
The animals suffered broken bones on their paws and also lost "quite a few" teeth trying to chew their way out of the traps. The urban wildlife are now being cared for at Critter Care Wildlife Society and it's hoped they will recover and can eventually be released.
It's believed the traps were intentionally set out near Dunbar Park on Vancouver's West Side.
Adrian Nelson of Fur-Bearer Defenders says the incident is even more troubling because the traps were laid in an area that's regularly frequented by young children and family pets.
"Anybody can fall victim to those traps. They're completely inconsiderate. We've had multiple cases of dogs, skunks, and members of people's family's falling prey to this," he told CTV News.
It's against the law in B.C. for leg-hold traps to be placed within 200 metres of a residential area, yet this is far from an isolated incident.
In August, a skunk was severely injured after being caught in a steel-jawed leg-hold trap laid in a busy area of South Vancouver.
Homeowners found the frantic skunk, which was in obvious distress, trying to crawl under their fence with the steel-jawed trap still encasing its leg.
A Canada goose was also severely injured after being caught in a trap on a Surrey golf course in May, and police on Vancouver Island issued a warning about possible leg-hold traps being used in Oak Bay after receiving reports of people seeing raccoons missing paws.
Six B.C. municipalities have moved to regulate trapping in their jurisdictions but are awaiting authority from the provincial government.
The leg-hold traps can cause devastating injuries to wildlife: broken bones, severe flesh wounds, and in the worst cases, death.
Fur-bearers is offering two $1,000 rewards for information leading to the identification and conviction of the people responsible for setting the traps in Vancouver.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Ministry of Environment Report All Poachers and Polluters Line at 877-952-7277.
