Deer caught in trapper's snares ????

[IaCraig]

I have seen where deer have gotten caught in cable snares set by trappers. I used to see it alot more when I used to hunt in northern Iowa back when foxes were worth big $$$. (showing my age again) But I still see it once in a while and I was wondering:
1) How often are other hunters encountering this type of thing?
2) Are there techniques some trappers use when setting snares to help minimize this?

Please don't turn this into a SLAM trappers thread. Personally I don't know much about trapping and I'm curious if this can't be avoided or if it only happens when a trapper gets careless.

IaCraig

 

[smokepole]

I am not sure if this is still valid, but when I trapped in highschool there was a law that there need to be deer locks on all snares. This a lock that will stop the snare about 4 inches, so deer do not get caught! The snare should also have a tag on it saying who the trap belongs to and if so contact the DNR and have them take care of the problem.

 

[muddy]

I'm pretty sure you're right smokepole, in Iowa I believe the minimum deer lock is supposed to be at 1 1/2 inches. I used to custom order my snares with 3" holes and set them in places that wouldn't have a high probability of catching a deer. I had a friend in hich school who caught a deer but he wasn't using stops, I believe he just threw his archery tag on it. I kind've frowned on that but at least he used the deer I suppose.

MW

 

[BigCountry]

I have two friends that are avid snare trappers. Deer are safe from snares as long as they obey the laws and put locks on them. Whenever a deer walks over one of their snares, it just knocks it over and the deer safely walks away.

 

[buckwheat]

i am 14 and have trapped since i was six. out of those 8 years we have only caught 1 deer in a snare. we called the dnr and they gave us a tag and told us to just call them if it happens again. usually we set snares for fox and coyote we try not to set them on deer trails but i guess a deer will cross anywhere. to help minimize it you are supposed to put a 3in circumfrance circle stopper. that just helps if they step in it. also try not to put them on well used deer trails or you can block it off so the only thing that can go under are fox & coyote.