A dog in Heffley Creek, near Kamloops was caught in a trapper's snare on Dec. 29.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lyann Wourms

Heffley Creek resident Lyann Wourms had a scare when her dog was ensnared in a hunting trap in an area she has been using for recreation for 15 years.

“It was around Tilly’s neck and she wouldn’t move thankfully, because if she’d struggled like animals typically do when they’re caught, she would’ve killed herself,” she said.

The incident happened on Dec. 29 in a popular recreational area near Heffley Creek Eco-Depot off of Sullivan Valley Road. Wourms and her husband took her two dogs for a hike like she often does, but on the way back, her border collie, Tilly, disappeared.

“We always keep her in our sight and she has good recall,” Wourms said. “We were calling her and heard nothing, then I hear one little yelp. Instantly, I knew something was up.”

She went running into the bush to find the dog sitting next to a tree with a spring-loaded snare around her neck.

“My husband sat next to her and held the snare so it couldn’t tighten anymore while I went to group of people having a bonfire nearby to see if anyone had cable snips,” she said.

Tilly is a beloved pet of a Heffley Creek couple.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lyann Wourms

One of the strangers had a knife that didn’t work to cut the snare, but eventually Wourm’s husband figured out how to release the springs and free the dog.

“We’re so fortunate she was a good girl and sat still and we were able to spring it open,” she said.

The wooded area is full of trails where outdoor enthusiasts mountain bike and dirt bike in warmer months, and hike, toboggan and have bonfires in the winter. There are several entries to the trail system.

“I understand if you let your dog run off leash anywhere on Crown land there could be traps there,” Wourms said. “The signage for this particular trap line is only posted at one little spot on the road and we didn’t realize it was there because we used a different entry.”

Chris Wheeler is the director for BC Trappers Association for Region Three that encompasses the Kamloops area.

He was unable to confirm who set the traps or if it was a member of the BC Trapper’s Association, however, upon being alerted to the issue, he sent out a mass email to 275 members asking if they knew anything and requesting the traps be removed immediately, which they since have been.

“I asked if anyone knows about the set in this area with GPS coordinates, and if you don’t want to come forward, or if you know the owner get them out there and remove them if anything is close to a road or where people are running dogs or where kids are tobogganing," Wheeler said.

“One thing to keep in mind, this is a problem all trappers run into, is when people run dogs off leash illegally, it makes it super tough for everybody.”

Wheeler is a dog lover, a dog owner and runs two trap lines, one in 70 Mile and one at Tunkwa Lake. He has signs available for all regional trappers made up through the provincial government.

“I do everything I possibly can do, I put signs up, I make sure I’m not near any roads, and I go further into the bush,” he said.

“For any area that becomes a place for the public I’d stay a long way away from it, anywhere there is a chance someone is running a dog off leash.”

Wheeler said snaring off leash dogs does happen and he had an incident himself roughly five years ago.

“Someone was snowshoeing in the backcountry and I caught a dog five kilometres from a road,” he said. “The signs were up, the snowshoer walked past them leaving their dogs to run.

“The dog wasn’t killed and the owner called conservation on me, who asked if I wanted to press charges because my sets were wrecked. Of course I didn’t. I could care less if a set gets wrecked, as long as the dog is OK.”  

Wheeler said traplines are owned the same as any tenure and every square inch of the province is under a trapline. All of those lines are owned and there are very few that are not being operated. 

“The last thing anyone wants to do is catch a dog or hurt a pet,” he said. “If people are going to run dogs off leash, they should be aware of signage and know who to release traps.

“I run my own dogs, its tough, but if you see a sign that says active trapping in the area, please obey them.”

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Rattled by the ordeal, Wourms went online to learn how to release different types of snares and order a pair of cable snips.

“That is something I’ll be carrying now, I like to let the dogs run free, that’s why I go out there. This awareness piece is important for both dog owners and trappers," she said.

"Imagine if you couldn’t release that snare and had to watch your dog choke to death, that’s horrifying.”

Separate traplines have been assigned to licensed trappers in the area since 1926, and to get a license, a trapper must complete a course on humane trapping methods, fur handling and trapline management, according to Stevenson Luchies and Legh.

Trappers are to adhere to professional and ethical standards that help to manage animal populations. 

There are roughly 2,900 registered traplines in BC.

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