Snare trap bills die in Virginia General Assembly

Courtesy of Steve via Pexels

Legislators’ efforts to reign in the use of snare traps have died in this year’s Virginia General Assembly.

Delegate Margaret Ransone, who represents the Northern Neck and part of Caroline, has cited two incidents in her district of hunting dogs being caught in snare traps since 2020, the Virginia Mercury reported.

“What’s happening in my district, we’ve got people that are buying up large properties of land putting snare traps all over their property. They do not own livestock. They aren’t trying to kill nuisance species. They are doing it with the intent to try to catch something else,” she added in that report.

This year, Ransone introduced HB 1175, a bill that prohibits the use of snare traps with a circumference greater than 12 inches to hunt or kill game animals. She also introduced HB 1176, a bill seeking to completely prohibit the use of snare traps to hunt or kill game.

Those bills were referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources, and that’s where they were left. Although Ransone is assigned to that committee, she couldn’t gain enough support to get them through to the House floor for a vote.

Senator Ryan McDougle, who represents the 4th District, which also includes the Northern Neck, proposed SB 492. Originally, his bill sought to make it illegal to kill or trap or to attempt to kill or trap game using snare traps. But before it passed the Senate, the bill was softened with an amendment that prohibited snare traps only in areas east of Interstate 95, and that prohibition was limited to deer season.

When the bill crossed over to the House, it also went to the Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources, and it was also left there to die.

Did You Know: Virginia is currently holding a lottery to participate in its first managed elk hunt?