TIMMINS - A Timmins woman's two dogs are recovering after getting caught up in trapping snares over the weekend.
In the wake of the incident, Lynn Bilodeau and the Timmins Fur Council are both raising awareness about walking in the bush.
Lynn Bilodeau was walking her two large dogs in the bush off Malette Road on Sunday when the dogs went off the path and got caught up in baited snare traps. Bilodeau’s daughter ran to their truck and brought back shears to cut the lines.
Both dogs were caught around the neck. They are recovering, with the younger dog, Molly, having a burst blood vessel in her eye.
“I’ve been going there for three years, and nothing really happened,” she said.
Malette Road is in the west end of Timmins is a wooded area, but the logging road has several markers along it where Bilodeau was walking. Her dogs had gone into a clearing off the path when they were caught in the traps.
Bilodeau called the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) about the incident and they informed her she could be charged with interfering with a trap.
The MNR has investigated the incident and will not be pressing charges, said MNR spokesperson Mike Fenn.
It is illegal to tamper with legally laid traps, nets, bait, or any other thing used for hunting, trapping, or fishing according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, but Timmins Fur Council president Kaileigh Russell said calling the MNR when you have concerns is the right move.
“If you do have a concern about the potential for a trap not being legally set or being set in an illegal area, take a GPS location or an approximate location of where you found those traps, take photos, and report those to the MNR,” said Russell.
After the incident, the fur council shared information on its Facebook page outlining some of the responsibilities of both pet owners and trappers in shared spaces, like the area near Malette Road.
“A lot of these traplines were created before these roadways, especially forestry roads and bush access roads were built in, so those roads are not always the boundary you think they are,” said Russell. “There are maps available online where people can see where traplines exist in our area.”
If people have questions about trapping practices and regulations, Russell said to email [email protected].
The Timmins Fur Council was founded in the 1960s. Part of its mandate is to educate the general public about the work trappers do.
Despite her fear and anger about the situation, Bilodeau said she just wants to make sure people are aware that this can happen.
“I just don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said. “We have just as much right to be there.”
Trappers are not legally required to put up any signage to indicate traps in the area, though some do take that step.
Bilodeau said she saw a blue ribbon in the area after the incident but didn’t know what that indicated.
Trapping season starts in our region in October and runs through April, and that is when people should be most alert on Crown Land, said Russell.
She also said the best way to avoid situations like this is to have control of pets in areas where traps might be.
“Prevention is a really key part of this,” she said. “I know sometimes people assume if you’re on Crown Land that you can let your dogs run, but it’s really important that we either keep dogs on leash or that you have a solid recall with your animal.”
