PEISome advocates say Prince Edward Island’s new rules for trapping and snaring animals like coyotes will help prevent accidental deaths of dogs, but there could be an impact on trappers.Changes will come into effect in upcoming trapping seasonConnor Lamont · CBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoThe provincial government announced changes to P.E.I’s trapping and snaring rules to encourage more humane practices and reduce the risk of pets and people coming in contact with snares. (Connor Lamont/CBC)Some advocates say Prince Edward Island’s new rules for trapping and snaring animals like coyotes will help prevent accidental deaths of dogs, but there could be an impact on trappers.The Island’s fish and wildlife division is making the changes to encourage more humane trapping and to reduce the risk of pets and people coming in contact with a snare. Some of the changes include no longer allowing snares on public land, a requirement to get written permission from landowners before putting down a snare, and banning bait in snares that might attract dogs — so they’re less likely to go near it. “I looked at them very positively,” said Pierre-Yves Daoust, a wildlife pathologist and professor emeritus with the Atlantic Veterinary College. Daoust authored a review a few years ago that was commissioned by the province. It looked into what the impact would be if trapping was banned on P.E.I.”The changes that P.E.I. …has brought to those rules and regulations will, I think, go a long way toward making sure that the risk of dogs being caught in snares would be greatly reduced, if both the trappers and the pet owners take their own responsibilities,” he said.Wildlife pathologist Pierre-Yves Daoust said the changes will be effective if both trappers and pet owners take precautions. (Connor Lamont/CBC)Daoust said the concern from pet owners is legitimate, especially after some dogs were killed by illegal snares in recent years. He can’t say for certain that no dog will get caught with the new changes in effect, but said the chances are very low.’A level-headed approach’The Fur Institute of Canada said the new rules will reduce the risk of dogs getting caught in snares, while still giving trappers enough tools to do their job.”Making sure that trappers are still able to trap, I do commend the government of P.E.I. for taking a level-headed approach in dealing with what can be a very emotional issue,” said executive director Doug Chiasson. “They deferred to experts on how to best move forward.”Chiasson likes that the province is allowing live-restraining snares. He said they’re pretty common across North America and shouldn’t be an issue for Island trappers to adopt.This type of trap doesn’t kill the animal, it just catches them. “If a dog gets caught in one of those restraining snares they would act basically like a leash and so there should be less of a problem,” said Daoust.Daoust said one of the snags with the device is that it has to be used in open areas, which can make it hard to actually trap coyotes and foxes. Humane snaringChiasson and Daoust both said they support the province requiring a new snare designs that kill animals more humanely, but Daoust said it’s hard to know just how effective they actually are.”We need to have a better understanding of how they act and how long it takes for the animal, whether it be coyotes or foxes, to die. And it is very difficult to get this kind of information,” said Daoust. “I think more work is needed in this area to better understand.”Daoust said some people will never approve of any type of trap of snare, but there is work being done to try to make it better for animals.Doug Chiasson, executive director of the Fur Institute of Canada, said the removal of trapping is a worst-case scenario, since the practice is an important part of wildlife management, including reducing diseases. (Connor Lamont/CBC)Chiasson said there will be a cost for trappers to acquire the new humane snares, as well as any live-restraining snares. He hopes the government understands this could have an effect on trappers. ‘This could have been worse’Chiasson said trappers are an important part of wildlife management, especially when it comes to preventing the spread of disease and protecting infrastructure.He said a full trapping ban would be a worst-case scenario.”This could have been a lot worse for trappers and a lot worse for Islanders,” said Chiasson. “But the government of P.E.I took a breath, consulted experts and put together an expert report on how to regulate fur trapping on the Island.”Daoust said it’s important to keep a pool of experienced trappers around. “There will always be conflicts that will emerge once in a while between wild animals and humans, and therefore at some point, there may be no other way to deal with those negative interactions but selectively try to trap animals.”ABOUT THE AUTHORConnor Lamont is a news reporter at CBC Prince Edward Island, based in Charlottetown. He previously worked at CBC News Network in Toronto and is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University.
Advocates say new P.E.I. snare rules improve humane practices, but can challenge trappers
