The CBC has reported on the incident from last week, in which the entire community – including RCMP officers, town officials, and residents – worked together to free the dog. Gennaios, so-named by the NWT SPCA in Yellowknife, was caught in a snare either in or nearby the hamlet that’s just west of Great Slave Lake. The trap had apparently broken away and Gennaios was hiding under a porch.
Nicole Spencer, President of the NWT SPCA, told the CBC it took “several hours” before Gennaios would come out from under the porch. The snare was tight around his neck causing his eyes to be bloodshot and his face swollen.
“He couldn't breathe, he couldn't get enough oxygen," Spencer said. "Another half a day or day, he would have probably died. And a slow, painful death, because the snare just gradually tightens."
Spencer and the entire community are considered about the location of the snare, which she said would be illegal so close to or actually in the town.
Gennaios is slowly recovering – his injuries were treated, but it may take him time to overcome shyness. And, sadly, this case shows the ongoing need for trapping reform. Gennaios was only found because he managed to break the snare free of its anchor or attachment – which leaves the question, how many dogs, at-risk or endangered species, and other non-targets, didn’t break free?
How many animals are suffering in these snares with no oversight and only voluntary reporting? And how long will it be before enough blood, pain, and suffering have piled up to force change?
Join us and add your voice to the many calling for an end to the barbaric use of snares in Canada.
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