Trappers who break the law should be punished, says Fur Institute, responding to study

The Fur Institute of Canada says many trappers are pet owners, and the last thing they want to do is find that a cat or dog has been caught.

The fur industry organization is responding to research by animal rights group The Fur-Bearers, which found traps set for wildlife were responsible for injuring or killing 173 household pets over a five-year period. 

“The last thing they want to see when when they go to check their trap line is to see someone’s pet in the trap,” said Doug Chiasson, executive director of the Fur Institute of Canada.

The Fur-Bearers found that 56 dogs or cats were caught in wildlife traps in British Columbia, 30 in Alberta, 31 in Saskatchewan, 24 in Manitoba and 12 in Quebec from 2017 to 2021.

Chiasson argued that the findings didn’t differentiate between legal and illegal traps, and that anyone new to the business is taught that it's paramount to use and sets traps ethically: “to instil in them the importance of ensuring that they are not the trapper on the news, who caused the next incident with a pet.”

He said legal trappers follow setback and height rules, where applicable, to ensure dogs in particular are not caught by accident.

“People who are acting illegally and breaking the law should be punished for breaking the law,” he said.

In a statement to CTV News, the B.C. government said it is concerned about pets being trapped and "has taken action on this by banning, within municipalities, the most lethal traps to pets."

“Those who illegally set traps, do not take required training or trap improperly can be subject to fines and penalties,” reads the statement.

The Fur-Bearers, meanwhile, pointed to an incident where a lab-cross was caught in a legal trap in Kimberley, B.C..

They’re calling on the government to publish information on when and where pets are caught, and whether the traps involved were legal.