Barred Owl poached in Moodus

[gdn443]

As many of you know by now, an Animal Rehabilitator from Moodus obtained a barred owl with a rusty, unpadded, untagged 1 1/2 long spring trap ( with no chain ) on November 25th.

This made News in both the press and local TV stations.

The CTA and the CT NWCO organizations have been right on top of this once the news item was aired on Fox 61.

This incident is now being called a "poaching" concern by the DEP who is now working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the investigation of this incident.

Of course, the HSUS jumped right on this and started their usual dialogue about banning the foothold with their unwarranted, uneducated, and emotion based charge of the cruelty of trapping, the need to ban it completely and the overall opinion that this was done by a trapper.

With the press release by the DEP announcing this as a poaching concern, not a trapping related event, will hopefully inform the public that licensed, ethical trappers would not have been caused this crime.

Today, Tip Garritt and Herb Sobanski of CTA attended a press conference in Hartford along side the CT NWCO organization announcing a $5,000.00 reward for the capture and conviction of the person responsible for this crime and illegal act.

Rest assure, the CTA will be ready for the next battle the HSUS and other Animal Rights organizations plan for any initiation of submitting legislation to ban the foot hold trap, conibear trap or trapping in general in Connecticut.

I hope you are all having a fruitful season so far.
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[gdn443]

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[center]Connecticut DEP and US Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement Investigating Death of Federally-Protected Owl
[/size]The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement are actively investigating the death of a barred owl found in an illegal trap in East Haddam last week.
"We are addressing a very situation where the apparent improper, illegal use of a trap has resulted in the death of a federally-protected bird," said DEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette. "Poaching this bird is a violation of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and carries fines of up to $15,000 and up to 6 months in jail. We hope to prosecute the person or persons responsible. "
DEP’s Environmental Conservation Police have obtained possession of the trap and the owl, discovered on Nov. 25 in the Moodus section of East Haddam. Attempts to save the injured owl were unsuccessful and it was euthanized by a local veterinarian.
The trap, an unpadded foothold trap, is only legal in Connecticut when placed under water. Used properly, these traps are valuable for capturing aquatic furbearers, such as beavers and muskrats, and will not capture terrestrial animals.
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to conduct a forensic examination on the owl as part of the investigation," said Deputy Commissioner Frechette. "We hope that the forensic results and a joint investigation by our two agencies will determine how the owl came to be in the trap. What concerns us most is that the characteristics of this trap indicate it was used by a poacher who exhibited a flagrant disregard for the law."
Frechette added, "This situation cannot be equated with trapping, which is highly regulated in Connecticut. Responsibly conducted, trapping can alleviate or prevent property damage caused by beavers and muskrats including flooding of land and homes and the destruction of wells, roads or septic systems. Trapping, raccoons, coyotes and fishers also helps prevent crop damage or attacks on livestock, and is also used as a tool to protect threatened and endangered species."
Detailed information on trapping rules and regulations are available on the DEP website at [#0000ff]http://www.ct.gov/dep/
[/#0000ff]Anyone with information about this case can call the state DEP 24-houry Emergency line at 860-424-3333.
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[davetclown]

under ground roumor has it,
A peta member was using a live rabbit tied down to the ground surounded by traps that were not staked so any animal caught in it would drag the trap in to the woods.

as much as that above sounds like a big crock full, it is more plauseable than a trapper using an un staked trap.

It is well known that owls only go after live prey. hawks and eagles also hunt but will turn to scavageing in times when food prospects are not moving for several days.

as a trapper my self, there are only a cople ways to trap an owl by the leg, one is the way for mentioned and the other is to climb a tree or find the nest where the owl roost and set the trap in the nest. even in those cases a poacher would have tied down the trap.

this has all the signs of an animal rights activist falling off his nut because he cant condem law bieding sportsmen leagaly.

a poacher would not risk damaging the owl by using a leg iron or conibar. not even if he wanted it dead. Marred or mangaled product has litte or no value.
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[gdn443]

This smells of PETA. No one would put out any trap with out a chain and stake. Whats the sense???? Same story as last year, different owl. Of course an animal rehabilatater was on the tv blasting all traps. Here we go again.[crazy]
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[davetclown]

that sounds more realistic, a scam by an "animal rights activist/animal rehibilitator/peta member".

The part they dont understand is, they have commited a fellony by filing false police reports.

What I think realy happened is some one put a trap in their atic or livestock barn for rats. and some one else falsesified the story to fit thier objectives... Some one should go look in thier actic to see if there is a boy flying a balloon kid hiding under a box....[:p]
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[gdn443]

I found out that a rehabilitater doesn't have to report an injured owl or any animal federally protected for 48 hrs. So they called the tv station to make a story against trappers and trapping. This in itself is against federel law to use a protected animal for purposes of propaganda. Put I doudt the liberals will prosecute on this issue.
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[davetclown]

the part here is, In this time of economic upheaval, What is left of your limited law inforcement had to spend valuable and limited man hours and financial resorces on false reports and investigation of a non existant crime.

Well I should say investigating the wrong crime.

Whats more is, I can see how this escilated, When you have an inner city police department or environmental agency who have men and women to which none of them are outdoresmen it is easy for them to become mislead.

Even here in michigan I am seeing our concervation agency hiring more and more Concervation officers who have limited if any hunting, trapping, fishing experiance.

I understand the importance of educated C/O officers, but I think they are short suiting them selves when they dont have sportsmen and women working in thier departments. Now we have some one who is investigating a Balloon Trapper. [:/]

Then there is the law of obstructing justice. which is another fellony in itself.

I wonder just how many crimes were comited because the law inforcement personel was spending time on a false report, and how many criminal cases went unsolved because the officer missed the oppertunity to solve it because the spent their time on a false report.
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