Belleville city council decides to keep leghold traps in new policy

Willis Deline (second from right) said an animal trap ban would be a bad move for Belleville at Tuesday’s council meeting. Photo by Ludwick Chapman, QNet News.

By Syerra Turry and Ludwick Chapman

BELLEVILLE –  Belleville’s beavers won’t find full relief from body-gripping traps.

City council announced Tuesday they will create a policy to deal with the trapping of beavers and other fur-bearing animals, which includes the use of leg-hold and body-gripping devices.

When the policy was introduced at the September 24 council meeting, it created some controversy over the use traps. A passionate presentation was given by Stanley Park residents Doug Knutson and Chris Finkle to convince council to ban the use of these traps in Belleville entirely.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Willis Deline, president of the Ontario Fur Managers Federation, spoke to council before the debate.

He said that Ontario is a leader in humane trapping and has the highest standards in the world.

“We mention this not only to make you aware of the requirements but to dismiss the myth that traps used in Ontario cause needless pain and suffering,” he told council.

Canada and the provinces have jointly invested nearly $58 million in trap research, testing and development of humane methods, he said.

“Some individuals with personal agendas or opinions will never be satisfied with humane methods utilized by trained, certified and ethical professionals and the resolution of humane wildlife conflicts,” he said.

Deline asked the council to consider other animals the city might have to deal with, including coyotes, raccoons, and foxes, before deciding on what restrictions to set on trapping.

Racoon rabies remains prevalent in Ontario and is travelling east, he added.

“It could come here and we got to be able to deal with it. We definitely don’t want to eliminate any tools that we may need to take care of the problems at hand,” he said.

Coun. Kelly McCaw, Coun. Mitch Panciuk and Coun. Egerton Boyce all supported a complete ban on the use of leg-hold traps or similar devices, arguing live traps should only be used as a last resort.

McCaw offered a detailed account on the use of traps and the danger they present to household pets.

She spoke of one instance where a couple’s dog was killed slowly by a Conibear body-gripping trap, which snaps the animal’s neck. She said it wasn’t strong enough to kill the animal instantly.

McCaw later said that while banning all traps may be unnecessary, she believes live traps should only be used as a last resort.

Coun. Paul Carr said he was concerned about leaving the city vulnerable to multi-million dollar infrastructure damage that can be caused by animals where there aren’t sufficient traps in place, especially in areas where subdivisions are continuing to grow.

“The reality is that wildlife is going to try to compete with that urbanization and there are going to be times where there are no other alternatives and we have to protect infrastructure that’s private investment,” he said.

Councillors Paul Carr, Jackie Denyes, Mike Graham, Jack Miller, Garnet Thompson, and Mayor Taso Christopher voted in favour of the resolution.