KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Wildlife Emergency Services officials are searching for a Santa Clarita resident who allegedly killed a raccoon after attempting to trap the animal, officials said.
Earlier this week a resident on the 28000 block of Rock Canyon Drive in Saugus, allegedly snared a raccoon with an illegal foothold trap and became entangled in a tree where it died, said Rebecca Dmytryk, CEO for the Wildlife Emergency Services (WES).
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the incident, and believe the animal trapped at another location near the home.
“The trap was rusted,” said Tim Daly, a public information officer for the department. “We believe the animal was trapped at another location and was able to move to the tree.”
The likely cause of death for the raccoon was suffocation, according to Wildlife officials.
The jaw-like metal trap is illegal and cannot be used in the Santa Clarita-area, according to Daly.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends residents to keep food locked up and away from animals.
Wildlife Emergency Services officials are hoping to find who the person or persons who snared the raccoon are, and believe they are responsible for multiple other injuries to wild animals in the Santa Clarita Valley.
“We believe someone is actively setting these illegal foothold traps in Santa Clarita,” Dmytryk said. “Multiple coyotes have been seen in Santa Clarita with missing paws.”
Officials believe those coyotes could have been trapped and “gnawed through their paw” to get free, Dmytryk said.
“Trapping of wildlife is heavily regulated in California — even use of cage-traps. In addition to other restrictions, no person — not even a licensed trapper — is allowed to set a trap without first obtaining written consent from all homeowners within 150 yards of the proposed trap site,” Dmytryk said
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect responsible for setting the traps, according to officials.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Wildlife Emergency Services by clicking here, or to report anonymously through the Department of Fish and Wildlife CalTip line at 888-334-2258.
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Find them, lock them up, and throw away the key!!! Poor, sweet animals!
I agree. So so sad. I will search for this suspect. Inhumane! Not cool.
Why WHY are people are so damn mean????? I have Raccoons that come to my house, but, I make sure my dog is in the house and no food is left out.
STOP being so mean!!!!!
Mark… in all actuality they were here before us we just keep building on thier land… how would you feel if you were a wild critter causing no trouble at all and all of a sudden you get your “paw” stuck in a foot trap… it’s not pretty. I suggest not making wild critters the villain… leave them alone… and just coexist with them like we have done for thousands of years and not complain about how “vicious” or “diseased” they are… Please and Thank you
Gee Mark do you live near Rock Canyon. You sound overly concerned about these animals being out there.
We need the WILD! It’s part of the circle of life. If people would just let them be and yes, not feed them, BUT certainly NOT harm them as well!!!! We all need to co live with each other and being us Humans have the ability to be Responsible, it is our responsibility to make good and human choices.
Vicious? They are wild animals, do you think you would be able to cuddle them? What an idiot comment. Everyone, including humans can “carry disease”, most are absolutely healthy, shall we kill them all just in case? They don’t “multiply” because they are fed, they breed just like ALL animals. I hate folks with your ridiculous, ignorant attitudes towards native wildlife. Ignorance much?
The Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends residents to “keep food locked up and away from animals”. How does one keep an apricot tree “locked up and away” from squirrels? Must we allow rats free range in our yards, when neighbors provide food and water for “outdoor” dogs?
Well, Rock Canyon Dr. is near my house. You know I’ll be searching. I love God’s wildlife he put in our valley. I take much pride. Inhumane whoever did this, please stop. If you won’t do it for the animal’s well being, please do it for your neighbor’s well being. Thank you
Please stop doing this. Very sad. I will search for you suspect!
A couple things you should consider. These traps are not human. Whoever did this, maliciously caused extremem pain to another sentient being wthout wny empathy. One reasionwe should all be concerned about this is that people that hurt animals also may abuse children or spouses. It is part of having no empathy.
Let me add, please, please don’t use poisons. It kills the owls and hawks, the very creatures that would help control the squirrels and mice. All these creatures are native and natural. f people would allow the circle of life and nature to exist, we would not have so much chemical pollution. Having trouple with squirrels? Build a hawk perch.
I have fruit trees true. I have given up trying to keep all the fruit for myself. I just share with the other creatures.
Oops, I sure had sticky fingers on that one! Here’s a corrected copy.
A couple things you should consider. These traps are not humane. Whoever did this, maliciously caused extreme pain to another sentient being without any empathy. One reason we should all be concerned about this is that people that hurt animals also may abuse children or spouses. It is part of having no empathy.
Let me add, please, please don’t use poisons. It kills the owls and hawks, the very creatures that would help control the squirrels and mice. All these creatures are native and natural. f people would allow the circle of life and nature to exist, we would not have so much chemical pollution. Having trouble with squirrels? Build a hawk perch.
I have fruit trees too. I have given up trying to keep all the fruit for myself. I just share with the other creatures.
If you are the trapper, please consider this. Children and domestic animals could also be caught in your traps. It’s not just “wild” animals that could be maimed and killed by you. I have spent a good deal of my life rehabilitating injured animals. Some recover if they are discovered soon enough. Others die a terrible, painful death. How many deaths are you responsible for? The baby bobcat that we discovered died. She had no chance to live her life because of you. If she had lived, she would have helped to keep the rodent population down. Instead, thousands of rodents are now running around where you live. I hope you enjoy them.
Get those a holes and put Them in the trap and see if that like it pls ?
Reminds me of something similar that happened last year in Newhall. A guy didn’t want cats and recently born kittens on his property so he bludgeoned them all with a baseball cat, killing them. The neighbors did not report him, and it was not the first time he had done this. The only reason they called Animal Control was because they did not want their children to see the mess it left. That’s why someone posted on the Santa Clarita Community page. She was asking who could come and get the bodies. This is the kind of people we live amongst and I am horrified.
That’s absolutely terrible…call the cops on this POS.
Mark A. Wheeler, thank you for giving us your name. You sound like you could possibly be the suspect in this case. I’m sure the Wildlife Emergency Services would be interested in checking you out. I’ll contact Carl Goldman (owner of KHTS) and ask him to contact them about this.
Mark A. Wheeler…It’s ignorance like this that is the problem. These animals lived here long before you arrived. We have taken their land. Let them live in peace. It’s called kindness which obviously does not exist in your world. You are the one we all have to fear, with logic like that. Unfortunately, there are a lot of ‘Mark’s’ out there.