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For Immediate Release
Conservation Groups Ask Minnesota to Protect Threatened Lynx from State Trapping Program
New Law Eliminating Trapping Permits Greatly Increases Risks
Washington, DC − Conservation groups today formally asked the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) to take immediate steps to reduce the likelihood that lynx will be killed or injured in traps sanctioned by the state. Since the lynx was listed as “threatened” in March of 2000, numerous lynx have been either killed or injured in traps authorized by the state.
“We are concerned that Minnesota is failing to address known risks to this threatened species, and instead has made the situation worse by supporting the elimination of permit requirements for snares and traps,” stated Mike Leahy, Staff Attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “In light of these new, looser trapping requirements, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources needs to take immediate action to reduce the likelihood that more lynx will be killed by state-sanctioned trapping.”
Highlighting the agency’s neglectful treatment of lynx, MN DNR actively supported passage of a state law which lifted the long-standing requirement to obtain a permit for certain trapping activities. The new law, passed on June 3, 2005 , explicitly allow trappers to “use a snare to take lynx…without a permit.” The law directly conflicts with federal law prohibiting trapping of lynx as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, so any person who traps a lynx under the state law would still be subject to federal prosecution. But it sends a confusing signal to trappers, who may read the state law as allowing them to snare lynx without attempting to obtain a permit from the state. The law also means that if federal protections are eliminated, the state could immediately change its regulations to allow for the kind of unchecked trapping that nearly wiped out Minnesota ’s lynx population in the first place.
The permit requirement was an important way for the MN DNR to monitor trapping. Without this requirement it will be much harder for the agency to know how many traps are being set where, and what the trapping intensity is in lynx habitat and elsewhere, making it more difficult for the agency to gauge and minimize the risks to the lynx. Too much trapping is the main reason Minnesota ’s lynx population was nearly wiped out in the first place.
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading nonprofit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 490,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
