Humane Trapping Sought

STONE HARBOR – The May 21 Stone Harbor Council work session saw a debate on the use of snare traps as part of the predator control activities at Stone Harbor Point.
During a standard monthly report of the Environmental Resources Committee, Council member Charles Krafczek asked why the council had not been notified that officials from the state Division of Fish and Wildlife employed snare traps as part of the predator control plan at the Point.
“Why did I learn about this through social media?” Krafczek asked.
His questions provoked comments from Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour who criticized the state’s use of the traps, calling them cruel and inhumane. 
A snare trap, also called a cable trap, is essentially one that grips or snares a body part, often the neck, in a wire noose. It can kill the animal snared or trap the animal for however long it takes for the snare to be checked by those who set it. In some states, grip or snare traps are illegal.
Davies-Dunhour said that animals caught in a snare trap can be left for hours, even a day or more before the trap is checked.
“I get the need for predator control at the Point, but there has to be a better way,” she said
Trapping is part of the effort to control predators in advance of and during the breeding and rearing season for beach nesting birds.
Stone Harbor Point, designated a Natural Heritage Priority Site by the state, is a major stopover location for migratory birds.
Predator control programs are aimed at red foxes, raccoons, and skunks that threaten the birds and their eggs.
Wetlands Institute Executive Director Lenore Tedesco argued that hard choices have to be made with respect to controlling predators. “It’s an emotional issue,” she said, adding that the lack of effective alternatives given state resources made use of the traps necessary.
Davies-Dunhour, who also serves as director of the Cape May County Animal Shelter, referenced her own efforts to rid the Point of feral cats as evidence that a trap-and-relocate program can work. Even if relocation is not a viable option, she argued that a more humane option for trapping predators needs to be employed.
“These animals can be trapped and left ensnared for 12 to 16 hours,” she said. Davies-Dunhour said the state was trying to run the program on a Monday to Friday workday basis and that approach would not work.
Tedesco responded that she believes the state was not using the weekends because officials were mindful of the large number of visitors in the borough during weekends in the season.
The debate was not going to convince Davies-Dunhour or Krafczek of the merits of any approach that relies on snare traps.
Council member Raymond Parzych assured the mayor that she had council support for an attempt to press the state to find more humane approaches to predator control. There was agreement that a letter would be drafted for approval by council at the next meeting.
“If it doesn’t work, we will have tried,” Parzych said.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.