‘Inhumane’ traps forbidden in Yukon, Canada

The government of Canada’s northwestern Yukon territory wants to reassure buyers that animals do not suffer needlessly when caught in the wild.

A new update to trapping regulations is set to forbid leg-hold and other traps the government calls inhumane.

Jean Legare has been trapping for 37 years outside Watson Lake.

He says everyone he knows has been using humane traps for decades.

Nevertheless, he says a written policy of humane treatment is good for the animals, good for trappers and good for business.

“Canada is really at the forefront of trapping development. I think we can be proud of that, and I think anything we do to use better trapping methods and to improve trappers’ image is a positive step,” he says.

The territory will soon require certified humane traps for lynx, ermine and otters.

New regulations on lynx and ermine traps will come into place in 2015.

The deadline for the otter traps is set for 2016.

Ryan Hennings is a conservation officer with Environment Yukon. He says the delay in the legislation is intentional.

“This is just allowing the trappers out there to understand that this regulation is coming, to get prepared, to buy traps, to learn maybe more about their trapping methods.”

There are more than 400 licensed trappers in the Yukon.