Young coyote released after rescue from illegal steel-jawed trap in Solano County
FAIRFIELD, Calif. —
A young female coyote has been returned to the wild after rescuers said she was caught in an illegally set steel-jawed leg-hold trap near Fairfield.
The Solano Wildlife Rescue and Education Center shared photographs of the coyote and the trap with KCRA to help residents recognize the devices and understand the danger they pose to wildlife.
Amy Pedrioli, founder of the nonprofit rescue center, said the trap was found near Suisun Valley and Rockville roads, just outside Fairfield.
“The trap was purposely set. It was staked into the ground,” Pedrioli said.
A person in the area discovered the coyote and contacted authorities, according to the rescue center. The animal was freed and brought to the center for treatment.
Pedrioli said the coyote sustained soft-tissue injuries but avoided the permanent damage that such traps can cause. After about two and a half weeks of rehabilitation, the animal recovered and was released back into the wild.
“These traps are super, super horrible. They’re barbaric,” Pedrioli said. “Many animals will actually gnaw off their legs, their arms, whatever is stuck in there. It does a lot of irreversible damage where they will have to be euthanized.”
Pedrioli said animals can remain caught for extended periods if a trap is not quickly discovered.
“Some of them sit in these traps for a very long time, and it is a lot of unnecessary suffering, which we don’t stand for,” she said.
California law generally prohibits using or authorizing the use of a steel-jawed leg-hold trap, padded or otherwise, to capture wildlife, dogs, or cats. A narrow exception applies to authorized government workers in extraordinary cases involving human health or safety.
A violation is punishable by a fine of $300 to $2,000, up to one year in county jail, or both, according to the California Fish and Game Code.
The rescue center rehabilitates injured, sick, and orphaned mammals found throughout Solano County. Pedrioli said its patients range from ground squirrels and opossums to coyotes.
She said wildlife rehabilitation has become more challenging as development expands into areas where wild animals already live.
“They don’t want wildlife in their backyard, even though they moved into it,” Pedrioli said of some residents.
The organization hopes that publicizing the coyote’s case will help people identify and report suspected traps.
“We just hope that if people are out walking around and they happen to come across it, they can report it so that we can take them down and find out who’s setting them,” Pedrioli said.
Anyone who finds a suspected trap should keep a safe distance and should not touch or attempt to remove it, the rescue center said. People should note the location and report it to their local sheriff’s office or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Authorities have not identified who allegedly set the trap.
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