LION: Listen to tale of the trap

When I learned the fate of this lion, I knew his story needed to be told. This situation is not the exception, but is often the rule with traps and lions.

A young tom lion was caught in a leg hold trap. These large predators are not used to being tied down and confined so he managed to break the chain to the trap. It was still on his paw when he escaped.

The trapper returned to find his trap missing with blood and lion tracks in the snow. He then found a hound hunter to track the cat. It was easy for the dogs to follow the lion’s bloody trail until they were finally able to tree him.

The lion was killed. It was soon discovered that he had broken all of his teeth while trying to bite the metal leg hold trap that was still on his paw. This is a normal reaction when any lion is subdued by a trap. This story was told to me … disgustingly … with pride and no remorse.

This is why trapping should be banned in Idaho. People are not aware of the tremendous suffering that takes place behind a trapper’s veil of secrecy. If you can imagine it … it has happened when it comes to wildlife suffering. Rabbits, ravens, eagles, deer, elk, moose, skunks, squirrels, bears, etc. … all of which experience daily the torture from this vile pastime.

It is not the rosy, romantic picture that is so often portrayed.

KEVIN BROWN

Kootenai County