According to the Port Perry Star, a local trapper was “fined $1,500 for trapping without a licence, $1,000 for improperly setting leg-hold traps for mink and $1,500 for trapping fisher. He was also fined $1,000 for falsifying fur harvest reports, according to a Ministry of Natural Resources press release.”
It all stemmed from a complaint filed with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in November, indicating someone was setting traps on private property without written consent – a requirement for trapping to be legal.
This underscores the need for landowners to be aware of their rights – and that oversight of trapping should grow, not shrink, as it has in recent years with reductions in MNR funding. Homeowners should also be sure of where their property lines lay and consider posting no trespassing signs.
If you believe trapping is occurring on your property illegally in Ontario, contact the MNR tip line at 1-877-847-7667.
