Petition calls for science-based trapping regulations, shorter trap check window
For Immediate Release
October 8, 2024
Contacts:
Don Molde, Nevada Wildlife Alliance, (775) 742-1418,
Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians, (505) 395-6177,
Elizabeth Bennett, Mountain Lion Foundation, (916) 442-2666 x100,
RENO, Nev.—Today, a group of local and regional wildlife advocates submitted a petition to the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners which requests Nevada’s trapping regulations be changed to better protect mountain lions. Mountain lions are a “non-target” species in Nevada, but inadequate trapping regulations result in dozens of individual lions being injured or killed.
“The Nevada Wildlife Commission’s stated mission is to ‘protect and conserve wildlife and its habitat,’ and the trapping policies they support do the exact opposite when it comes to mountain lions,” said Don Molde, co-founder of the Nevada Wildlife Alliance.
According to state data from just 9 years (2002-2004, 2007, 2010-2015), at least 278 mountain lions were trapped. Eleven of those lions were injured and 24 died. According to the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) data only 19% of trappers report their non-target catches. So the actual number of lions that have been killed or injured due to Nevada’s trapping regulations is unknown, and is likely significantly higher.
“Information from the Nevada Department of Wildlife – over 20 years of data – shows that about one of every six mountain lions in Nevada has signs of injury consistent with previous trap or snare encounters,” said Molde. “We don’t know how many others die of injuries or starve to death and go undetected. Probably a lot.”
“Nevada’s 96-hour trap check window is the longest and cruelest in the American West. It’s no wonder that mountain lions lose digits, limbs, and lives in these unchecked devices,” said Chris Smith, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians. “The commissioners are charged with protecting wildlife. Department data clearly shows that they are failing to protect mountain lions.”
A 2023 poll found that 67% of Nevadans believe that 96 hours between trap check intervals is too long and needs to be shortened.
Mountain lions are Nevada’s only extant apex carnivore, and studies show that species like lions have substantial and measurable benefits for ecosystems including river-corridor health, increased biodiversity, disease control, and even carbon sequestration.
“Given the outsized role that every mountain lion plays in keeping Nevada’s wildlife communities healthy, every mountain lion should be protected to the fullest extent allowed under current state law.” said R. Brent Lyles, executive director of the Mountain Lion Foundation. “Moreover, beyond the scientific justification for this petition, I think most Nevadans would agree with me that their wildlife commissioners have a moral obligation to protect their mountain lions from injuries and deaths like this that are not just needless but shockingly cruel.”
Among the recommendations made to the commissioners in the petition are shortening the trap check window to 24 hours in accordance with recommendations from the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians, limiting trap sizes, requiring trap-chain swivels, prohibiting drags (attaching traps to rocks, logs, or other moveable objects), and requiring trapper education.
The Board of Wildlife Commissioners meets next on November 15th in Reno and the petitioners expect the commission to hear the petition on that date.