Traps are still allowed in many communities
Dear Lawyer,
Several weeks ago, a neighbor of mine set an old leg-hold trap on his property to catch a skunk. Part of our lots is unfenced, and my dog ended up getting her paw in the trap. When I heard her screams, I ran out to help, but she was in such a panic she lashed out, and I needed 10 stitches on my arm. The trap was set not 50 yards from our houses! I demanded the neighbor reimburse me for veterinary and medical costs, but he claims local laws allow him to trap on his property. What can I do?
— Injured and furious
Dear Injured,
As an animal-lover and advisory board member for Project Coyote, I oppose trapping that causes injury to any animal. A growing number of New Mexico communities have enacted trapping bans on public lands, the largest being Albuquerque and the latest being Jemez Springs. Unfortunately, other municipalities still have ordinances that allow trapping, though usually with restrictions.
Traps regularly injure and kill dogs, cats, birds, and sometimes children, and are a serious threat to public safety. Some communities, like Corrales, allow the use of leg-hold traps only with permission from the animal control department, and at least 100 yards from any occupied dwelling unless explicit permission is granted from the occupants.
If your neighbor violated an ordinance by not complying with such requirements, you could sue him in court under the theory of “negligence per se.”
The term refers to injury resulting from violation of a law designed to protect the public from a specific type of harm. Since you and your dog are presumed members of the class that the ordinance was intended to protect, and you were injured, the law would presume your neighbor guilty of negligence. The burden would shift to him to prove that he did not violate the law or cause harm to others.
The property owner does not have to know about the ordinance to be guilty of negligence per se. Also, even if your neighbor claimed not to have envisioned the possibility of injury to a human, it could be foreseen by a reasonable person. So you could sue not only for medical costs, but also punitive damages, pain and suffering. Your neighbor will wish he had simply tried to coexist with the errant skunk!
We need to make our communities safe for both humans and animals, and permissiveness on trapping continues to hurt both. I am hopeful more municipalities in New Mexico act soon to ban all trapping on public lands, eliminate use of quickkill and leg-hold traps, and require animal control officers to review, authorize, and conduct all “live exit” trapping on public and private property.
Ed Goodman spent more than two decades as a trial lawyer in Massachusetts. He lives in Corrales with a human companion and seven dogs, four turkeys, four chickens, and a parrot.