In 1996 Massachusetts voters approved as a ballot initiative the Wildlife Protection Act, ALM GL ch. 131, § 80A. The vote was overwhelming in favor of the new law. According to the Animal Rescue League of Boston, a 2007 survey confirmed 79% of Massachusetts residents approved of the law.

What the law does is make it illegal to "use, set, place, maintain, manufacture or possess any trap for the purpose of capturing furbearing mammals, except for common type mouse and rat traps, nets, and box or cage type traps". Id.

Federal and state as well as municipal boards of health are exempt if there is a health and safety issue caused by beavers or muskrats. Individuals can obtain an emergency permit from municipal boards of health or the state to remove animals by (a) the use of conibear or box or cage-type traps; (b) the breaching of dams, dikes, bogs or berms; and (c) employing any nonlethal management or water-flow devices.

There are provisions to allow extensions of time to use these devices, additional emergency permits, and development of longer range plans for addressing the problem. 

The current law also allows anyone to apply to the state director of health for a special permit good for up to 30 days to use traps other than leghold if "there exists on the property an animal problem which cannot be reasonably abated by the use of traps other than those prohibited" and there has been an attempt to "abate the problem" otherwise "and that such an animal problem exists which cannot reasonably be abated by the use of alternative, nonlethal management techniques or traps other than those prohibited".

H.B. 4943 

During this past session the legislature amended the Wildlife Protection Act in H.B. 4943 to allow the Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (DFW) to issue permits to use cruel body gripping traps for as long as necessary to alleviate health and safety risks created by beavers or muskrats. DFW could also issue emergency permits otherwise if a municipality denies or does not respond to a request.       

In effect, people hoping to use cruel traps could go around the health departments and obtain permits from DFW. Gov. Deval Patrick has sent H.B. 4943 back to the legislature requesting an amendment to require DFW to consult with the Dept. of Public Health in determining that there is, in fact, a human health and safety risk before issuing these permits. 

The traps, of course, could be used to trap any animal once the permit is issued and the bill creates a loophole in the Wildlife Protection Act that would allow hunters to resume use of these cruel devices. The use of these deadly traps also endanger pets and children.  

There is simply no reason to return to archaic, cruel techniques for addressing issues that come up when humans co-exist with wildlife. Beavers actually create and help sustain wetlands, something that is critical to flood control, water quality and preventing soil erosion.  Wetlands support a diverse and large number of species. There is no reason not to use drainage systems and other flow control devices to prevent any flooding or other problems from beaver colonies. The current Wildlife Protection Act already provides sufficient means to trap and remove wildlife. 

But this is not about urban planning and development or even human health and safety risks. This bill is about carving out enough of a loophole in the Wildlife Protection Act to allow hunters to use leghold and other cruel traps.

H.B. 4943 has been returned to the legislature for approval of Gov. Patrick's amendment. Find your MA legislators here and write (faxes are best) or call and urge them to vote NO on H.B. 4943.  Please call Governor Patrick now at 617-725-4005 or at 888-870-7770 (in state) and urge him to veto H.B. 4943. You can also write or fax the governor: