Calls to make trap signs mandatory in B.C. after dog loses leg

A family in northeastern British Columbia is calling on trappers to post warnings after their dog was caught in a leg-hold trap and had to have its leg amputated. 

Ricki Hartley says she and her husband started to worry when their 3½-year-old Anatolian shepherd, Pearl, didn’t show up for dinner one night. 

“She’s never not been home for dinner,” Hartley said. 

Pearl is a working dog who helps fend off predators at the family’s small farm northwest of Fort St. John, which Hartley says has 10 cows, two horses and around 20 chickens. 

The family planned to search for her around their property as soon as the sun came up. But when her husband returned home empty handed, the panic set in, Hartley said. 

What made the ensuing search even more harrowing was being able to hear Pearl responding to her calls, Hartley said.

“I started hollering at my loudest for Pearl, and she actually howled back. I could hear her in the distance howling,” she said.

More than two days after Pearl had gone missing, Hartley’s husband found the dog stuck in a leg-hold trap — a trap that catches animals by a limb. 

The family took the dog to the veterinarian, where it was determined Pearl would either be euthanized or have her leg amputated. The Hartleys opted for amputation.

Calls for mandatory signage

Hartley says it’s concerning that she wasn’t aware of traps in the area — no one let them know they had set any, and no signs were posted, she said. 

Now, the Hartleys and advocacy group the Fur-Bearers are calling on trappers to be more mindful of pets and people in areas where they set traps, and let people know where they are. 

Fur-Bearers executive director Lesley Fox says the organization would like to see warning signs made mandatory. 

“This would let anyone in the area know that there are devices, you know, saying it’s an active trap line, active traps, and … giving people information so they can make decisions for themselves, their family and for their animals,” she said. 

Additionally, Fox said, the group wants to see identification tags linked to traps to make them easy to trace.

Trapping is regulated in B.C. According to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, about 3,500 trappers are active in the province, roughly half of whom are Indigenous. 

The trapping section of the B.C. Wildlife Act says warning signs “should be used to inform people of trapping activities,” but Fox says that doesn’t always happen. 

“On a fairly regular basis, they injure and harm not only wildlife, but pets and children have also been caught in traps,” she said. 

The B.C. Trappers Association says it has been working “diligently” with the province to provide its members with clear signage for active trapping areas. However, trappers have encountered issues with vandalism and removal of signs and people not seeing signs. 

“We are sympathetic to the situation and will continue as an organization to ensure public awareness and education on trapping activities,” the association said in a statement to CBC.

Pearl is now getting used to life indoors as she recovers at home, Hartley said.

“She’s not quite stoked about being stuck in the house all the time, but she’s moving around a little bit,” she said, adding that Pearl will no longer be a working dog.

“We’re surrounded by forest and wilderness. The thought of her free roaming out, she still would have that drive to chase predators away and we definitely wouldn’t want her on three legs just out in the forest.”