Coyote stuck in illegal trap

"It was very sad" said Riverside Department of Animals Services Officer Lisa Boughamer, at the sight of a coyote stuck inside a leg trap at a Palm Desert golf course. Not only was it sad, the trap is illegal she added. She was called early Wednesday morning by a golf course employee who found the thrashing animal, trapped in a clamp style or body gripping trap.

"He was pretty frantic" adds Boughmaer, "jumping an ripping its left leg side to side, trying to escape". She took the animal to the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, where she and a colleague, Officer Hector Palafox, freed the animal from the contraption. The Living Desert in Palm Desert agreed to take in the animal, and try to rehabilitate it for release in the wild.

The trap is now evidence, as it is illegal. "Body gripping traps, or leg holds, have been illegal in California for quite some time" explains Fish & Wildlife Warden Kyle Chang. "I know many people are not fans of coyotes because they prey on their small pets" says Boughamer, "but when people live close to where the animals roam, it's their responsibility to protect their pets, and wildlife should not have to suffer in this cruel and inhumane manner".

If anyone has information about the incident, they can call the Riverside County Departmetn of Animal Services at (951) 358-7387.

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