This is a good example of “greenwashing”. It sounds good, but intentionally harming or killing endangered species is against the law (it’s not a selling feature). Furthermore, while it is obviously illegal to use endangered species in clothing, traps can and will maim and kill endangered and other non-target species.
Recent examples of traps killing our precious and endangered wildlife:
January 2013: A trapper in Idaho recently learned the hard way the importance of knowing how to tell a bobcat from a lynx when he mistakenly killed a lynx in one of his traps. Lynx are classified as threatenedand protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. (Source: Bonners Ferry Herald News, Jan 25, 2013)
January 2013: On January 1, 2013, The Duluth News Tribune (Minnesota) published an article, “Feds seek help, offer reward in Canada lynx death near Ely”. According to the article, a lynx was found dead near Ely’s Anderson Lake. Test results confirmed the animal had been caught in a leg-hold. The trapper did not report the incident but obviously tried to hide or abandon the carcass. Lynx are listed as a ‘threatened species’ in the USA.
November 2012: According to a news article posted by ABC news online, a bald eagle was found in a trap in New Hampshire. Bald eagles are listed as a threatened species in that state.
March 2012: According to the Wawaya News, a trapper killed an endangered eastern wolverine. Constance Lake’s Larry Gillis and grandson Jeff Gillis caught a wolverine on their trapline near the old Pagwa community site.
January 2011: CBC news reported that a Manitoba trapper found a dead full grown male cougar in one of his traps near Boissevain, about 250 kilometres from Winnipeg. The cougar is listed as a protected species. Under the law, the trapper was forced to report his find to Manitoba conservation officers.
January 2011: Bangor Daily news reported that trapper William McCoy of Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to jail for trapping and killing a Canada Lynx , an endangered species. William also received a penalty for failing to report his violation of the law.
February 8, 2011: Fox News of Indiana reported that conservation officers submitted charges to the Putnam County Prosecutor’s Office against trapper, Darin Hull, 43, of Reelsville, Indiana on two counts of illegal taking/possession of a bobcat. Police believe Hull trapped and skinned two bobcats. Indiana conservation officers located the bobcat hides in a freezer wrapped and marked “beef tongue,” according to a news release. Bobcats are a protected species in Indiana.
(In addition to killing non-target animals like species at risk, traps also kill and maim family pets.)
Bottom line: Trappers are NOT conservationists. They trap and kill animals for needless fur products. These animals are not “surplus”, weak, or diseased either. These fur-bearers are killed solely because they happen to be the 10 or 12 species that have nice, thick fur out of an estimated 140,000 species of animals in Canada.
