Beloved family pet dies in agony. Is it time to revisit the idea of fur trapping in Alaska?

One minute a family dog named Grizzly was playing in front of the house, the next he was shrieking and thrashing wildly, a trap locked in a death grip around his head, his face distorted by the pressure and pain.

The 4-year-old Rottweiler, pet of Tony and Natalie Lazenby and loved by others in the neighborhood, died a couple of hours later, his throat crushed, the Lazenbys said.

It took four people to get the trap off the dead dog's head.

The Conibear 220 spring-loaded trap that killed the dog Wednesday is now in the hands of authorities. It's designed to kill foxes, beavers and coyotes. Dogs occasionally die in them, too, but typically while on hikes with their owners in wild places, and typically in areas open to trapping.

Now it is important to note that this animal did not die due to a simple accident.  This dog died because somebody set a trap specifically to kill it, or another dog just like him.  Traps set within city limits are strictly forbidden.

Reading the description of how this beautiful animal suffered before it died will tear at the heart of anybody with even an ounce of humanity.  Nothing should have to suffer like this in its final minutes of life.

Which brings me to yet another example of something Alaskan that I find personally repugnant.

I am not a Vegan or PETA member but I am a human. And as a intellectual, compassionate being I feel a certain connection to the creatures that I share this planet with.  I simply do not like to see anything suffer, and my own personal code of ethics dictate that I not injure or kill anything that does not pose a significant danger to myself or my loved ones.

Trapping in Alaska has a long and honored history.  We even have a parade and a week long celebration in its honor called the Fur Rondy. (Short for Fur Rendezvous) In the early days of Alaska's history trapping was much respected way of life, and for many settlers and natives the only way they could support themselves and their families during the harsh Alaskan winters.

However as technologies improved and other employment opportunities emerged, trapping was relegated to mere pastime for most Caucasians though it is still considered a necessary subsistence activity for Alaska natives.

My point is that in 2008 fur trapping is not something that the vast majority of Alaskans need to participate in to survive, and if it is done simply as a "sport" then it needs to come to an end. Hunters can brag about following a moose for many miles through swampy underbrush and finally getting that clean shot which ends its life abruptly and relatively painlessly.  But trappers certainly can make no such claims.  They know that the creatures who fall prey to their snares or traps suffer mightily in their final moments, and simply do not care. 

And if it is not something that is needed for survival then it is simply killing for the sake of killing. And it is done in the most brutal fashion imaginable.

I recognize that in nature predators devour prey, and that death in the wild is always brutal and filled with pain and fear.  I accept that reality.  I also understand that human beings are nothing more then self aware animals.  However if we are to really live up to our fullest potential it seems to me that we should endeavor to cause as little harm as possible to other living things and to find the most humane methods imaginable to harvest our food.  Trapping is in no way humane.  The animal caught in the snare or trap suffers horribly before it breathes its last.  To my mind, in an enlightened world,  that is indefensible.