Goose caught in ‘cruel’ trap leads to renewed calls for a ban

'Cruel' trap injures goose, leads to calls for ban The incident at a Surrey golf course has critics renewing calls to ban the leg-hold traps.

Animal activists are sounding the alarm after a Canada goose was caught in a ‘cruel’ leg-hold trap at a Surrey golf course.

Three days after the goose was found with leg injuries caused by the trap, the bird is still suffering from the lacerations and not eating well. A wildlife rescue group was called to the golf course on Thursday evening and found the goose laying on the ground.

“She was bleeding very heavily. When they tried to catch her, she tried to escape but she couldn't take flight and she was slumped on the ground again,” said Yolanda Brooks, of the Wildlife Rescue Association. “There's a beaver den sort of on the pond nearby and I suspect the Canada goose was not the intended animal that they wanted to trap.”

Currently leg-hold traps are legal in British Columbia. Lesley Fox, executive director of The Fur-Bearers Association, said six B.C. municipalities have moved to regulate trapping in their jurisdictions but are awaiting authority from the provincial government.

“Unfortunately it’s not uncommon for us to see non-target animals suffering in traps like leg-hold traps,” Fox told CTV News. “These animals include animals like birds and owls, hawks, eagles in this case a Canada Goose. We’ve also seen people’s pets, dogs, cats, even turtles have been found caught in traps such as these.”

In 2012 an owl was caught in a leg-hold trap in Surrey, and in 2014 a similar trap left a Saskatoon cat with a broken leg.

“We believe that these traps are cruel, they’re indiscriminate in that they can catch everything and anything and that they have no place in a modern society,” Fox said.

Fox said there are alternative methods that allow humans to co-exist with wildlife, including flow devices that prevent flooding or other problems associated with beaver activity.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Michele Brunoro