Guest Editorial: State-sanctioned animal cruelty must be stopped

By Tom Mellana, editorial page editor, The Stamford Advocate/ Greenwich Time

In Stamford Advocate it’s: “End state-sanctioned animal cruelty”
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/End-state-sanctioned-animal-cruelty-4257149.php
End state-sanctioned animal cruelty

State-sanctioned animal cruelty must be stopped
Tom Mellana

Question: What would you call someone who intentionally hurts an animal, any animal, and locks it up to wallow in pain, fear and misery, leaving it to die a slow death, often after hurting itself further in a panicked attempt to free itself from its confines?

The state would call that person an animal abuser, and has laws on the books to punish him.

Strange, then, and tragic, that a person can commit those same behaviors, only this time out in the woods, and the state suddenly calls him a sportsman. It has laws on the books to help him.

It might come as a shock to some that we still allow animal trapping in this state, but allow it we do. Metal clamps that slam shut on an animal’s leg, devices that squeeze a body tight underwater until it drowns, are somehow considered acceptable forms of hunting.

It is a cruel practice that belongs to another time. Yet recent efforts to ban trapping in Connecticut have met vociferous opposition from the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection and so-called sportsmen’s groups. It is hard, however, to see anything sporting about nailing a contraption to the ground that will cause an animal hours upon hours of torture followed by death.

Modern-day trappers like to claim that today’s traps, including “padded” metal ones, don’t cause animals pain. We invite any to provide a demonstration on their own limb as proof.

Padded or not, traps must slam together hard and retain a tight squeeze on a leg or paw to prevent an animal from getting away. According to animal rights organizations that have studied the practice, while the initial snap can cause injury, more severe wounds often occur as trapped animals struggle to free themselves. They break their teeth trying to bite the metal trap, rip their flesh and break their bones as they frantically fight to get away. Animals have even been known chew off their own foot to free themselves.

Sorry if you didn’t expect to encounter such a gross image when turning to this page. But that is the terrible reality of trapping.

Most efforts to outlaw trapping have concentrated on the danger the devices pose to pets and even children. Indeed, a bill introduced to the Legislature last year was titled: “An Act Concerning Child Safety by Restricting the Placement of Leghold Traps.” It was defeated (see letter to the editor: http://bit.ly/TLupBk).

(See also a Greenwich resident’s account of her dog being caught in a trap: http://bit.ly/XP2aQb.)

It is infuriating to imagine a child or pet being injured (in the case of a pet, possibly killed) by a trap. But even if the devices posed zero threat to unintended victims (which trappers often claim), the practice should be unacceptable in a civilized society, regardless of the target. It is cruel to squeeze and drown a beaver to death for its pelt. It is cruel to attempt to control the coyote population by subjecting the animals to metal leg traps.

The subject of hunting has been debated on these pages many times over many years. That is an argument that will not end anytime soon.

But we should all agree that a practice as inhumane as trapping is wrong. Flat-out wrong. It is unconscionable that the state continues to condone such cruelty. It has no place in modern life. The Legislature should ban it, in this session.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Mellana is the editorial page editor of The Advocate and Greenwich Time newspapers in Fairfield County, Conn. He’s been a print journalist for 20 years. Born in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., he’s lived in Tarrytown for the last five years with his wife, Suzanne, and The Cat — and enough comic books to drive both wife and cat insane.

Contact him at thomas.mellana@scni.com

 

 

 

ADDENDUM

To the editor,

I would like to ask anyone who opposes the barbaric use of leghold traps to petition the Obama Administration to end trapping in the U.S.  It only takes a moment to create an account in order to sign and send a clear message to the White House!  When the petition reaches its goal of 100,000 signatures by February 19th, 2013, the White House must comment on it.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/ban-trapping-america-all-other-civilized-countries-have-already-done-based-cruelty-and-torture/4vhVGVbz

We petition the Obama Administration to:

“Ban trapping in America, as all other civilized countries have already done; based on cruelty and torture.

We the signed want the trapping of our wildlife banned in our country; as it is in all other civilized nations.

A trapped animal is a terrified animal in unimaginable agony, exposed to predators and the elements, dehydration, starvation, and extreme psychological distress in separation from their young–finally meeting a brutal end.

Traps are indiscriminate—many family pets and unintended animals have suffered and died in traps. Children are always at risk for stepping into a trap, particularly since trappers want to expand their range to national parks.

Since trappers only comprise 2% of our population, and have openly stated “the main reason I trap is not for financial gain, but for fun–you never know what you will get!”

Let us move out of the dark ages of trapping – say 98%!”

For the animals, I thank you!

Natalie Jarnstedt
atia.uno@gmail.com
Greenwich, CT 06830