META NAME="ROBOTS"CONTENT= "NOARCHIVE"
VAFA Home Page - Campaign Results Update of Nets and Traps Campaign: What Can I do? Toothed Traps, Spike and Glue traps: The Ongoing FIGHT! Grey-headed Flying Foxes Safe, thoughtful, backyard fruit tree protection Universal Charter of the Rights of Other Species Contact Us


 

Toothed Steel-Jawed Traps (see update page)

 

VAFA Anti-Trap Protest 18.7.07 

 
"A person who wounds, terrifies, mutilates.. or abuses an animal is guilty of an offence", Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986, Section 9


Figure 12 Dingo cruelly caught in a toothed steel-jawed trap

While banned in NSW Tasmania and the ACT Victoria permits the purchase and use of toothed steel-jawed traps.

Since 1996 the Department of Primary Industries has stated that the use of steel-jawed traps (SJTs) is “strictly controlled”. See below and decide for yourself :-

Indefensible: SJTs torture animals for hours or days. It is difficult to imagine a more dreadful end for an animal moving freely one moment and the next gripped in the traps crushing jaws. Image your hand jammed in a car door for days you might begin to understand the agony of trapped animals. Toothed steel-jawed traps are torture and torture is morally indefensible.

Indiscriminate: Traps do not distinguish between target and non-target species.
According to a 1983 CSIRO (Journal of Australian Wildlife Research, Living with the Dingo) study they capture up to three times as many non-target species as target species - including many species of protected wildlife.

Unmonitored: The trap shown above is a large toothed steel-jawed trap. It may be set by any person, for any reason, in fully one third of Victoria. There is no requirement to notify any department of species caught. There is no Code of Practice for use of the large steel-jawed trap. In remote areas checking may be infrequent - animals are left to suffer long hours and days. We demand a Code of Practice and humane monitoring regimen .

Unethical: The Small Steel-Jawed (rabbit) Trap`Code of Practice`
When caught the existing Code of Practice allows persons who do not possess a firearm to set a trap and then to kill animals caught in the following manner:

4.2.2 Skull fracture.

Where shooting is not possible, a massive blow to the skull using a heavy instrument, causing extensive brain damage, is the preferred method of euthanasia. It is important to hit the top, back part of the head very hard to cause skull fracture brain damage and death. Ensure that the skull of the animal is kept still so that accurate aim can be taken. Do the job properly. It is better to hit too hard and cause massive injury than death not occurring.  ( The VAFA demands that this barbaric Code is modified. Persons must possess a firearm to euthanse trapped animals)

 

Figure 13 Wallaby dies in the trap`s savage steel jaws

Unenforceable: The small steel-jawed trap may be set in two thirds of Victoria. The level of non-target species death is unknown. A violation of the Code of Practice is not a breach of the law.

Politics: 1987 “Changing community attitudes to welfare issues in regard to wild dogs and non-target species has resulted in the Government adopting a policy committed to the banning of the steel-jawed trap." R. Begg, G.Davey, Victorian Wild Dog Control Plan, 1987, p.16

While the Department of Sustainability and Environment has phased out its sjts members of the public may continue to use them and so the toothed steel-jawed trap remains with us.

Due to a range of environmental and land management reasons it will not be possible to ban all jawed traps for many years. However, we can remove the most vicious types of traps and reform Victoria’s archaic trapping `Code of Practice`.

Rubber Jawed Traps:
Studies have shown that approximately fifty percent of non-target species may be released after being caught in a rubber-jawed trap.
Write to the Minister for Agriculture and demand: 

  • The total abolition of the large (dog) and small (rabbit) toothed steel-jawed trap.
  • Only rubber jawed traps be permitted 
  • Only persons who possess a firearm may set a jawed trap of any type 
  •  Introduce tranquilising (ttd) and lethal (ldd) trap devices as soon as possible 
  •  Use cellular technology device to alert the dogger/trapper when a trap has been sprung and its number/location 
  •  Trap checking to be carried out immediately a trap is sprung 
  •  Permission be required before a trap is set 
  •  Number, species and status (live/dead/released/euthansed) of non-target species to be recorded 


Figure 15 Even Rosellas are not spared the evil of steel-traps

Demand the total abolition of the small and large toothed steel-jawed trap
Minister for Agriculture
Joe Helper
Level 22, 1 Spring St
Melbourne Victoria 3003
Email joe.helper@parliament.vic.gov.au

................................................................................................

 

`SPIKE TRAPS` - This trap pushes animals onto sharp spiked edges. The spikes appear to have no function other than to maximise the suffering of animals.

What can I do ? see below.........

 

  

 

 

Ask Victoria's Minister for Agriculture to BAN all spiked snap traps and glue traps 

Minister for Agriculture
Joe Helper
Level 22, 1 Spring St
Melbourne Victoria 3003
Email joe.helper@parliament.vic.gov.au

 

If you see glue traps or spike traps for sale politely tell the retailer that you object to them on ethical grounds and ask him/her to seriously consider not stocking the product in future.

 

Major outlets Mitre 10; Bunnings and Thrifty Link/Home Hardward have agreed on ethical grounds to `de-range` (not sell) glue traps and spike traps. Big business in leading the way in ethical reform - let's help the government and the smaller chain stores and two dollars shops follow their lead.  

 

Animal Liberation Victoria has joined the fight against glue traps and is kindly assisting VAFA in the production of a flyer to be sent to retailers of these products.