This letter is addressed to the trapping community. My sweet little dog should be dead. A week ago a friend was skiing with her from a popular trailhead off the Denali Highway when she was caught in a Conibear trap. There were no signs or any indication that traps were in the area. Had not my friend been tenacious and creative — she used her boot laces to tie one side of the trap open while she used both hands to open the other side — my dog would not have survived. It is a miracle she did.
So I ask you, the trapping community, what does it take for you to care about your neighbors, your community and your fellow trail users? How many beloved pets have to die, how many hearts have to break, how much suffering are you willing to inflict before you engage in the simple act of marking your traps? I will never again be able to ski with my dog in the area where my dog was trapped, trails I have skied for countless years, for fear another inconsiderate trapper will set traps without marking their presence.
Last winter, I was skiing on a trail near my house with two dogs, a trail I have snowmachined, dog mushed and skied on for years, when I came across large wolf snares set right down the middle of the trail. I cringe to think what would have happened to an unsuspecting snowmachiner on that trail that day. Again, no signs marked these snares. As with the trails out the Denali Highway, I will no longer be able to ski this trail again in good conscience with my dog.
I know, and I know many other Alaskans also know, several dogs that have been killed or been caught in traps, sometimes right in their backyards. So I have to ask you again, trapping community, what does it take to get you to mark your traps? What does it take for you to show this simple courtesy that could save a neighbor from the heartache of losing a canine family member? And ultimately, what does it take for you see the serious and deadly consequences of your choice to set traps in or around trails used by others? Please, I beg you, your neighbors beg you and your fellow trail users beg you, show some consideration and mark your traps.
— Juliette Boselli
Denali Park
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