Gibsons ban on leg-hold traps praised by animal rights group
Dan Burritt Aug 03, 2011 17:05:08 PM
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GIBSONS (NEWS1130) - The Town of Gibsons hopes other BC communities will follow its lead and ban certain types of animal traps.
Leg-hold, Conibear and snare traps are no longer allowed and anyone caught using one can now be fined $1,000.
The idea for a ban came up after a dog became caught in a trap meant for wolves in Sechelt in early spring.
Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk wants to take their new bylaw to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), "And see if other communities can adopt the same thing and perhaps set that precedent right across Canada."
"I just don't think these kinds of acts have any place in a smart and modern community," says Janyk. "These kinds of traps, they're cruel. They're inhumane."
"I'd love to put the [Association] for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals out of business," he laughs. "I mean that kind of half-jokingly, but I'd like to give them a lot less to do, and the way that we can do that is by taking this bylaw [and] taking it to the Union of BC Municipalities and saying, 'Here's what we did in Gibsons. What do you guys think?'"
Lesley Fox with Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, which pushed for the ban, calls Gibsons' new anti-trapping bylaw the toughest in Canada.
Fox expects the community of Sechelt to adopt a similar bylaw in September and her group will also be making their case at the UBCM meeting in September.
"We'll be talking to other municipalities who are struggling with wildlife concerns and using traps and educating them about non-lethal alternatives," she says.
Fox says such non-deadly alternatives include Pond Levellers and Beaver Deceivers. |
發表於 2011-8-3 18:58
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