Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) No foothold
trap with auxiliary teeth added shall be allowed.
(b) No foothold traps shall be set on land
with an inside jaw spread greater than 61/2 inches, measured between the inside
edges of the opened jaws, across the trap trigger, and perpendicular to the
trap base plate.
(c) Body gripping
traps with an inside jaw spread greater than or equal to 61/2 inches, measured
inside the jaws perpendicular to the trap's pivoting joints, shall only be set:
(1) Five feet or more above the ground or
surface of the snow unless there was a snowstorm during the previous 24 hours;
or
(2) In water, for beaver or
otter.
(d) Deadfalls, a
device constructed of any material(s) utilizing material weight as the holding
or killing method, shall be prohibited.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Fis
308, no person shall set a snare on land.
(f) When set, all traps shall be securely
attached to the ground, to a fixed object, to a drag, or to a slide
wire.
(g) Traps shall not be set
within 50 feet of exposed bait, as defined in paragraph (h) below, but may be
set any distance from a covered bait, as defined in paragraph (i)
below.
(h) "Exposed bait" means
bait that is the body of any animal, including fish, or parts thereof including
meat, organs, viscera, bones, or any other parts of an animal, that is visible
from above, but does not include meat, organs, viscera, or bones totaling 4
ounces or less, or skin, hair, or feathers 25 square inches or less, droppings,
urine, or living or dead animals held in a trap as the result of lawful
trapping activity.
(i) "Covered
bait" means bait that is the body of any animal, including fish, or parts
thereof including meat, organs, viscera, bones, or any other parts that are
covered so as to not be visible from above, where cover includes, but is not
limited to, brush, branches, leaves, soil, or snow and is constructed in a
manner to withstand wind and normal environmental conditions. "Covered bait"
includes baits less than one-half pound when placed in a dirt hole 6 inches in
diameter or less at a depth of 6 inches or greater, and baits of less than 5
pounds placed on pole sets 5 or more feet above ground are also considered
covered bait.
(j) The following
restrictions on traps shall apply while trapping in WMU's A, B, C1, C2, D1, D2
East, E, and F:
(1) All foothold traps set on
land must have one swivel in the chain or cable and one swivel connection to
the trap;
(2) Body gripping traps
with an inside jaw spread of 4 inches or greater and less than or equal to 5
inches, measured inside the jaws perpendicular to the trap's pivoting joints,
which are set on the ground, shall only be set as follows:
a. Set in the water at all times, unless
there was a water level change that occurred during the previous 24
hours;
b. Set under overhanging
stream banks; and
c. Set as a blind
set with no bait or attractant;
(3) Body gripping traps, measured inside the
jaws perpendicular to the trap's pivoting joints, with an inside jaw spread 4
inches or greater which are set off the ground, shall only be set as follows:
a. Five feet or more above the ground or
surface of the snow, unless there was a snowstorm during the previous 24
hours;
b. Affixed to a leaning
section of a pole or tree, no greater than 4 inches in diameter, that is free
of branches and angled 45 degrees or greater in its entirety;
c. Excluding branch removal, the pole or tree
shall not have planed or altered sides;
d. The area within 4 feet of the trap shall
be free of trees, poles, or other objects greater than 4 inches in
diameter;
e. The areas within 4
feet of the trap shall be free of trees or poles that are angled less than 45
degrees to the ground at any point between the ground elevation and the
elevation of the trap; and
f. The
area within 4 feet of the trap shall be free of banks, bluffs, rocks, or
immediate rise in ground elevation; and
(4) Body gripping traps with an inside jaw
spread greater than 5 inches and less than 61/2 inches, measured inside the
jaws perpendicular to the trap's pivoting joints, which are set on the ground,
shall only be set:
a. Recessed in the den
entry of nuisance wildlife with the den entry covered by wire mesh with
openings that do not exceed 11/2 inches side-to-side and wire gauge shall be 16
gauge or less or wire diameter 0.05 inches or greater;
b. If placed in a lynx exclusion device, as
follows:
1. The trap jaws shall be completely
within the device, but the trap springs may be outside of the device;
2. The lynx exclusion device shall not have
an opening greater than 6 inches by 8 inches;
3. The opening shall not be directly in front
of the trap but shall be either on the top or side of the device;
4. The trap set within the device shall be a
minimum of 18 inches from the closest edge of the opening to the
trap;
5. The back of the device
shall be secured to withstand heavy pulling;
6. If using wire mesh with a wood box, the
wire mesh shall wrap around 2 opposite sides of the box and be
secured;
7. There shall be at least
2 attachment points for each side of the device where there is a joint or where
panels come together;
8. The
exclusion device shall be constructed of wood or wire mesh that does not exceed
11/2 inch openings from side to side;
9. The wire gauge shall be 16 gauge or less
or a wire diameter of 0.05 inches or greater;
10. The opening slot in the device that
allows the trap springs to extend outside the device shall be no more than 71/2
inches wide and a height of no more than 11/2 inches; and
11. The trap shall be anchored outside of the
device.
#8105, INTERIM, eff 7-1-04, EXPIRED: 12-28-04
New. #8250, eff 1-6-05;
(renumbered by #9163, formerly Fis 303.16); ss by #10142, eff 6-5-12; ss by
#10347, eff 5-22-13
