Leg traps in Nose Hill Park

[First Lady]

Friend of mine blog about this today.

http://wheresyoursittraining.blogspo...k-calgary.html

Apparently the U of C and City of Calgary are conducting a carnivore study.





There are signs and presumably this would be in a non-off leash area.

Still seems like an archaic way to capture coyotes.

[Stay Golden]

thx for posting Nosehill is a frequent visit for us, I wouldn't want our dog to step in one of these by accident.

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Someone with a few long sticks should walk through and fix that.

[undercoverbrother]

Are Coyotes cute and cuddly?

[Luder]

If I could only carry my gun!

[Yanda]

Originally Posted by Luder

If I could only carry my gun!

Ya then we could just put a dog down on site when it attacks someone.

[Sr. Mints]

Seems like a pretty barbaric way to catch coyotes to me, too.

[Lobotroth]

[troutman]

Was expecting #NoseHillGentlemen takes.

[Regulator75]

How soon until Sliver is asked about his involvement?

[Old Yeller]

Are these traps in the off leash area of Nose Hill? If so this is ridiculous.

What happens if you don't see a stupid sign taped to tree? If my dog got its leg trapped in one of those I would be livid.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

How soon until Sliver is asked about his involvement?

perhaps it's his research....

[trumpethead]

Has your dog been to the Stampede yet??

[HELPNEEDED]

this is freaking disgusting.

[First Lady]

This comment was just left on the above linked blog.

My name is Alessandro Massolo and I am an Assistant Professor in Wildlife Health Ecology with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary. I am the supervisor of the catch and release study that is happening in the Nosehill, Bowmont and Fish Creek parks.

We are conducting this study in partnership with the City of Calgary and it involves catching coyotes, fitting them with GPS collars to track their movements, and then releasing them. It will help us understand how coyotes use and move around the urban environment and interact with humans, domestic animals and other urban wildlife. It will also contribute data to other ongoing studies that we conduct in partnership with the City, including a recently announced examination of gastrointestinal parasites in Calgary dogs. The findings may ultimately help improve the management of our city’s natural areas and ensure a better environment for people, their pets and wildlife, enabling them all to coexist in the urban landscape.

The catch and release equipment referred to in this blog has been placed off of the main trails, in heavily wooded areas and are only open between dusk (from approximately 8 p.m. onwards) and dawn. The equipment has only been placed in designated on-leash areas to minimize the potential for accidental capture of animals, as the assumption is that they would be on a leash and accompanied by a handler. We have also placed warning signs approximately 50 metres away from these areas. The “wooden board with spikes” also referred to is not a bait or a trap – this is simply a cover that is placed on the apparatus during daylight hours to prevent it from being activated.

The catch and release equipment is humane and is not intended to injure animals or people. In the event of a dog becoming caught, there are nearby signs immediately adjacent to them to indicate a phone number to call for immediate assistance. Any dog caught will immediately be conveyed to an emergency 24-hour veterinary clinic.

I can assure you that this study was subject to rigorous academic ethic approvals prior to being undertaken and is entirely humane. We did our best to mitigate potential risks and it is not our intent to have any animal hurt. We are taking this feedback, such as the readability of the signage, seriously into consideration and we will look into making appropriate modifications.

We appreciate your understanding and concern.

Kind regards,
Alessandro

[Old Yeller]

If only they had put that information on a sign instead of "hey, watch out for traps, call 311 if your dog gets stuck in one, thanks!".

[Regular_John]

"Gentle men, I have no need for your leg traps"

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

If only they had put that information on a sign instead of "hey, watch out for traps, call 311 if your dog gets stuck in one, thanks!".

They could have done a way better job at advising "prior" to it actually occurring.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

If only they had put that information on a sign instead of "hey, watch out for traps, call 311 if your dog gets stuck in one, thanks!".

LOL, yeah because people are going to stop and read an essay while walking their dogs.

It has been released now so I don't know what else could be asked of them.

I'd say this whole thing was blown way out of proportion. But jumping on the mob mentality fear bandwagon is much more fun than say calling the number on the sign and asking them about it.

[First Lady]

And this tweeted by City...



I wonder if the City was even aware of the methods being used.