Rat traps cause rise in wildlife injuries in Santa Cruz County

Two traps meant for rodents snapped at a much larger critter outside a home in Aptos.

A video from Wildlife Emergency Services shows a skunk with both paws squished.

Rescuers said the animal had a swollen paw and might lose some digits on the other, making it hard to survive in the wild.

And skunks aren’t the only animals getting accidentally hurt.

“Opossums; I have not personally seen a raccoon, but I know of raccoons; a deer had one on its nose; a bird,” said Rebecca Dmytryk with Wildlife Emergency Services.

Dmytryk said snap traps are a growing problem in Santa Cruz County.

“Those teeth grip into an animal’s face or paw, and it causes severe damage. When it’s on there too long, we had animals lose their nose and their digits, even their paw,” Dmytryk said.

Dmytryk said some people are using these traps because they want to move away from poison, and they are popular at the ACE Hardware store in Prunedale.

“They are pretty simple, really, you just pull it back and that’s it,” said salesperson Shaune Fajilan.

These traps might be easy to use but they can be counterproductive, and that’s why Dymytrk started an online petition for the manufacturers to alert buyers of the potential consequences.

“There’s not enough warning for consumers to say ‘don’t put this outside, at least not unprotected, not where other animals, even pets can get to them,'” Dmytryk said.

The manufacturer had not returned KION’s request for comment at the time this article was published.