Progress! Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act Reintroduced

Great news for wildlife! Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has just reintroduced the Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act to “help restore the original purpose of the National Wildlife Refuge System as a haven for wildlife by prohibiting the use of cruel body-gripping traps on these public, protected lands.”

The reintroduction of this important bill is a major step forward for compassion, as one of the greatest cruelties inflicted on wildlife in the United States is the horrific practice of using body-gripping traps and snares to catch, restrain, and/or kill animals. These devices cause the suffering and death of millions of animals across the country every year—including household pets—as there is no way to control what types of animals have the misfortune of being caught by traps and snares once they’re placed in the wild.

The animal victims of these traps can suffer for hours or even days, enduring broken bones, blood loss, starvation, exposure, or predation while immobilized. Leg-hold traps are considered so cruel that they are essentially banned in 80 countries, yet the United States still has no federal legislation regulating the use of these horrific devices.

The Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act could change that. If passed, this bill would prohibit the use of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System—shielding more than 570 refuges, and everyone who visits them or calls them home, from these indiscriminate implements of torture and death.

In a press release on the bill’s reintroduction, Representative Nadler stated: “When Americans visit their local National Wildlife Refuges, most expect to enjoy nature without worrying that they—or their pets—will fall victim to a dangerous trap. However, trapping is still allowed in many of the more than 570 refuges across the country, putting people, pets, and endangered species in danger of serious injury. These cruel devices have no place on protected public lands, and my bill will make sure our refuges are safe from this inhumane practice."

You can help build momentum by signing our petition urging Congress to pass this important bill—and by sharing it with your network.