Let's Get Brutal Traps off Refuge Lands
Dear John,
Land in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) has been set aside as a haven for wildlife and as a treasured space for all Americans to enjoy the great outdoors. No wild animal, pet, or person should have to experience a bone-crushing trap snapping shut on them, killing them or causing agonizing injuries when they're on lands that are intended to prioritize the protection of wild species above all else. Shockingly, however, nearly half of all national refuges allow the use of inhumane and dangerous body-gripping traps such as strangling snares, Conibear traps, and steel-jaw leghold traps. These devices are indiscriminate, trapping target and nontarget species alike, and cause horrific suffering. The NWRS cannot fulfill its goal of being a refuge for animals and people until use of these traps is severely restricted. The Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act (H.R. 5217), sponsored by Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), would prohibit the use of body-gripping traps within the NWRS, with limited exceptions. |