NY - Leghold Trap catches cats
Sent to the Buffalo News
LetterToEditor@buffnews.com
09/09/07
To The Editor:
Those concerned with the humane treatment of animals have been
saddened by the reports of domestic cats caught in leghold traps in the
towns of Niagara and Lewiston.
Steel-jaw leghold traps have been banned in eighty-nine countries for
their tendency to break bones and tear the tendons of the animals they
victimize. No trapper can prevent domestic dogs and cats from being
caught since the traps catch whatever animal triggers them.
The Bureau of Wildlife within the Department of Environmental
Conservation profits from the gruesome trade, since it is funded through
the sale of trapping licenses and the collection of excise taxes affixed
to the cost of traps and equipment.
This violence committed against animals is easily replaced by
wildlife watching, which according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
has increased in popularity by 6.5% in the past decade. Let’s replace
the taxes on weapons and hunting/trapping equipment with a tax on
equipment used by wildlife watchers. The funds can be used to protect
and preserve wildlife and the areas where they live, making the need to
depend on trapping and violence obsolete. To protect wildlife and the
areas where they live please visit
www.wildwatch.org.
Joe Miele, Vice President
Wildlife Watch, Inc.
