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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, January 20, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 11, 2003 Panel to decide trap-checking intervals The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meets Friday to discuss details of a new trapping law that’s fuzzy on how often trappers must check their traps By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Animal-rights activists and trapping interests are unable to reach a consensus on how often predator traps must be checked under Oregon’s fledgling trapping law, leaving a state commission to begin settling the argument. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday will discuss what specific length of time can elapse between checking killing or restraining traps set specifically for predators like coyotes and rodents. Options range from no time requirements in killing traps and a 76-hour period for restraining traps or snares to a blanket 24-hour trap-check limit for all predator traps. The range addresses issues ranging from worries about humane treatment of trapped animals to the practicality of thrice-weekly checking of traps scattered across vast and remote areas. Oregon currently has no trap-check time requirements for predators, making its rules the most lax in the nation. The Oregon Legislature in 2001 passed a trapping law that set a 48-hour limit for the trapping of furbearers like mink and beavers, but the law states that traps set for predators should be checked "on a regular basis." Advertisement The commission is charged to define specifically what "regular" means, and a hot public debate has ensued over how long is long enough. "No matter what we do there will be a segment in Oregon that won’t be satisfied because of the visceral reactions to trapping," says Marla Rae, a commission member working with representatives of various interests on the trapping issue. "But there is some middle ground where I think both extremes can agree to," says Rae, of Salem. "Have we found it yet? No. Maybe we will Friday." At its Friday meeting in Salem, the commission is expected to lay out what it intends to vote on Jan. 9 so the public can then comment on the specific proposal. No public testimony will be accepted Friday, but members of a "working group" asked to hash out a consensus are invited to testify. The seven-member commission then will discuss the issue. Once adopted, the requirement will affect not only the 200 or so licensed trappers who target predators in Oregon but also farm- and ranch-hands who occasionally trap coyotes or rodents because of agricultural damage. After meeting three times this fall, the working group of natural-resource and animal-rights interests could offer only a range of options and opinions about what direction Oregon should go. A legislative committee recommended a 76-hour limit for restraining traps. That would allow enough time for Wildlife Services’ so-called "government trappers" to set traps on Friday and get them all checked by late Monday morning. The committee also recommended 14-day intervals for checking kill traps for predators. Natural-resource groups are urging the commission to set flexible restrictions that account for everything from setting traps on large tracts of land to remote trap sites and even foul weather. Timber companies, which typically set kill traps for seedling-eating mountain beavers, would prefer a 20-day requirement for kill traps, says Mike Dykzeul,who represented the Oregon Forest Industries Council on the working group. "Fourteen (days) is a little short, but I’m willing to talk about it," Dykzeul says. The 76-hour requirement for restraining traps could burden ranchers curbing coyote damage because it often takes three days for human scent to leave a trap, Dykzeul says. "All you would be doing is continually checking an empty trap, while what gets away still preys on sheep and cattle," he says. It also would burden Wildlife Services agents who could be called to trap a menacing cougar, but instead be forced to check traps so they meet the legal thresholds, he says. "The real world suggests you need flexibility when dealing with health, human-safety and predation," Animal-rights groups like the Humane Society of the United States argued for a 24-hour requirement on all traps — a threshold now applied in 30 states. But Kelly Peterson of the Humane Society’s Oregon chapter says she would settle for 48 hours on all traps — just like the furbearer law — to ensure reduced suffering on injured animals, especially "non-targeted" animals that fall prey to the traps. Current law "gives the impression that it’s perfectly acceptable for an animal to suffer," says Peterson, of Portland. "We’re not breaking new ground here," Peterson says. "Other states have existed with 24-hour checks and the sky hasn’t fallen in those states." Rae says she expects some discussion on differentiating between killing traps, which are designed to kill the captured animal instantly, and restraining traps that hold an animal until the trapper arrives. Killing traps could end up with longer periods between checks than restraining traps, Rae says. The commission even could go so far as to discuss setting different rules for different parts of the states. "I don’t know if we’ll go that far, but we ought to have an understanding that there are some regional differences," Rae says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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