The state legislature?s limitations on leghold animal traps has pitted agricultural interests against urban homeowners.
The bill passed Monday after being sponsored for three years by Del. Neil Quinter, D-Howard County. It limits trapping to agricultural land and water, except by the Department of Natural Resources. As of press time Tuesday, Gov. Robert Ehrlich has yet to sign the bill. Animal rights activists remained hopeful.
“[Traps] are disastrously cruel and destructive. Animals in them often are left terrified. They chew their legs off in order to get out. It?s unspeakable,” said John Gerandy, senior vice president of wildlife for the U.S. Humane Society.
Trapping supporters say they are not harming animals. “I?ve been trapping for 35 years; I?ve never had a dead fox in a foot trap in my life. You can catch them in these traps and release them unharmed,” said Alfred Bradford, president of Maryland Fur Trappers Inc., who testified against the bill to the House of Delegates.
The issue may reflect the interest of new people moving into developments in Howard County.
Urban people “do not understand the need for trapping,” Bradford said. “It boils down to how you were brought up and where.”
Traps are used to capture animals for relocation, to control problem wildlife, for recreation and for profit from the fur. They do not have steel teeth, as is a common misconception.
