Neighbor trapping, is there anything we can do?

[GardenStream]

We have 8 acres that butts up against a steep hill that's wooded. When we moved here 5 years ago I noticed that there were "no trespassing" sings nailed onto the trees facing our property, but I didn't pay much attention. We've never met the neighbors down there and can't see their home from our property. Honestly, we wouldn't even know they were down there other than the shots we hear. I always assumed he was shooting groundhogs or something.

Then, a new neighbor moves into another house alongside us. He is a retired guy who loves to chat with everyone and seems to know all the local gossip. Anyway, he came over a couple months ago to tell us that we need to be really careful about the guy down the hill. The new neighbor's dog got caught in a trap that the hill neighbor had set. The hill neighbor released the new neighbor's dog, but the new neighbor said the hill neighbor was strange. I guess he popped up from behind a bush with a rifle pointed at the new neighbor when the new neighbor went to look for his dog.

I don't let my dogs run free and I'm not looking to make any new friends with the guy down the hill, so I didn't pay too much attention. OK, now fast forward to two night ago. We're lying in bed trying to sleep and my DH turns over to me and asks if I can hear the howling. I listened and I could hear what sounded like a dog howling and yelping. Our bedroom window faces the woods, so I'm sure it was coming from down the hill. Then, last night we're trying to go to bed and I hear the yelping again. My DH just said, "Sounds like that dog is still caught in a trap," and goes to sleep. I couldn't sleep listening to this poor dog yelping and whining all night.

So, is there anything we can do about this?

[Denvergirlie]

You could call the Humane society to try and intervene with the dog. They might take the dog away from the owner, since he lets his dog run free, tresspass on others property and get injured as a result.
The trapping neighbor is not at fault in this situation.

The dog owner should fence his property at the very least so he can maintain control over his dog.

best of luck, how sad

[luv-my-boys]

was it the other neighbors dog that got caught again? or was it a coyote/fox? If it were the neighobers dog possilby calling the humane society and lettig them know. It would be pretty irresponsible to let your dog wonder unleashed knowing it can get hurt nearby (prior knowldedge to the traps) However if its wild animals on strange guys property I dont see that anything really could be done unless he is breaking any local laws/ordinances doing it. For example locally traps here are allowed however the owner of the traps must check them every 72 hrs and "humanely" dispose of any animal.

[GardenStream]

I have no idea what is stuck in a trap over the hill and I'm not about to walk down there to find out. I doubt it's the new neighbor's dog. I'm not even sure it's a dog, it could very well be a coyote or a fox.

I just don't want to list to an animal suffering all night.

[GardenStream]

I just found on the Ohio dept of natural resources website that all traps must be checked every 24 hours.

[alivia]

You know, I would just call or stop by the neighbor guy's house who does the trapping and tell him there might be something in there. It's possible he doesn't know, and if he does know and is doing nothing about it, then at least you've made a subtle point that it bothers you to listen to it all night.

[Tizzy]

The howling was most likely coyotes.

[Hedgehog Mtn]

Originally Posted by Tizzy

The howling was most likely coyotes.

I second this. I hear howling from them for nights on end. Often they seem to come from the same spot throughout the night or from the same spot(s) for a few nights in a row. Around here I know for sure we have no trappers so it's just how they are.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by alivia

You know, I would just call or stop by the neighbor guy's house who does the trapping and tell him there might be something in there. It's possible he doesn't know, and if he does know and is doing nothing about it, then at least you've made a subtle point that it bothers you to listen to it all night.

This.

Originally Posted by Tizzy

The howling was most likely coyotes.

and this too.

[ThoughtFullMama]

Originally Posted by atobols

I have no idea what is stuck in a trap over the hill and I'm not about to walk down there to find out. I doubt it's the new neighbor's dog. I'm not even sure it's a dog, it could very well be a coyote or a fox.

I just don't want to listen to an animal suffering all night.

Well, I wouldn't want to listen to it either. But it's his land, and he can do with it what he wants. As long as the trap is checked as often as it's supposed to be (which no one really has anyway of determining) he pretty much has free reign. Why do we live in the country, anyway? For freedom? I'm not trying to be hard on you, but I do think you shouldn't butt in. It's his land. I'd be ticked if someone tried to tell me what to do on my land. I'm not a trapper, btw.

JMHO.

[GardenStream]

Originally Posted by ThoughtFullMama

Well, I wouldn't want to listen to it either. But it's his land, and he can do with it what he wants. As long as the trap is checked as often as it's supposed to be (which no one really has anyway of determining) he pretty much has free reign. Why do we live in the country, anyway? For freedom? I'm not trying to be hard on you, but I do think you shouldn't butt in. It's his land. I'd be ticked if someone tried to tell me what to do on my land. I'm not a trapper, btw.

JMHO.

I don't disagree with you. He can do whatever he wants on his land as long as it's legal. Honestly, I don't even care if he wants to do illegal things on his land. I just don't want it to bother me when he does those things. I can always turn a fan on and drown out the sound of an animal suffering during trapping season. Once trapping season is over though, I better not hear anything.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by atobols

I don't disagree with you. He can do whatever he wants on his land as long as it's legal. Honestly, I don't even care if he wants to do illegal things on his land. I just don't want it to bother me when he does those things. I can always turn a fan on and drown out the sound of an animal suffering during trapping season. Once trapping season is over though, I better not hear anything.

Really, I cannot imagine that an animal in a trap overnight is truly suffering. Not if he traps like my mom's dh does, anyway. I mean, they leave food in the trap, and there's plenty of room to move in it. No, they don't leave water, but they check traps each morning, and either release the animal trapped (like one time a mama deer and a turkey were in there and the mama was trying to get to her baby, so they let her go--they trap feral pigs, btw) or they transfer the trapped animal to a special cage in their truck and bring it back to their house to worm it, feed and water it for a month, and then we butcher.

[mamadelbosque]

Theres nothing you can do... and there is no 'season' for coyotes in OH, so he can trap for coyotes 24/7, 365 days out of the year. Unless you have zoning where you live, there isn't squat you can do about what your neighbor does on his property. Some folks by us recently came in and started a clay shooting buisiness and some of the neighbors around here have been quite upset. But theres not squat that can be done cause' theres no zoning, and even if people miracously voted FOR zoning, they'd be grand-fatherd in, so no-go there either.

[BfBobby]

I wonder if the howling is actually new or if it's just that you noticed it because the new neighbor alerted you to the fact that your hill neighbor is trapping and it bothers you. Presumably hill neighbor has had said traps set the entire time you've been living there, but only since you've been aware of them have you noticed howling animals suffering all night? More likely that new neighbor planted the possibility in your mind but in reality it's the same animals that have always been out there howling all night.

Seems to me that the only problem here is the new neighbor who doesn't contain his dog and causes problems among the other neighbors who have lived peacefully alongside each other for 5+ years!

[prancie]

We have coyotes here in ALabama and they yip and howl all night. youmay not be hearing what you think you are.

[SunshineJ]

If you're hearing gunshots, I think the only thing you can do is check to see if your county has any kind of law on that. I know many towns have it unlawful to discharge firearms inside of town, and I also recall a couple of places that made it county wide. I think you just have to research what the trapping, hunting and gun laws are in your area. Given that Ohio is generally pretty hunter-friendly I have to say I doubt he's breaking any laws.

[Oubliette8]

Originally Posted by Chicky2

Really, I cannot imagine that an animal in a trap overnight is truly suffering. Not if he traps like my mom's dh does, anyway. I mean, they leave food in the trap, and there's plenty of room to move in it. No, they don't leave water, but they check traps each morning, and either release the animal trapped (like one time a mama deer and a turkey were in there and the mama was trying to get to her baby, so they let her go--they trap feral pigs, btw) or they transfer the trapped animal to a special cage in their truck and bring it back to their house to worm it, feed and water it for a month, and then we butcher.

Where I live, you use live traps if you plan on relocating the nuisance animal elsewhere. It sounds like the OP's neighbor is more likely using leg-hold traps, or possibly snares. Those can and DO cause significant suffering to whatever gets caught in them. Sometimes animals will chew their own legs off to escape. I once saw a squirrel caught in a leghold trap in a residential area. I called the DNR as I was afraid children might approach it and get bit, it was making quite a bit of noise. Turns out the trapping was legal so long as he stayed within the guidelines and reported trapping a nuisance animal within a set time frame. Although the officer asked us to keep an eye out because he didn't think our neighbor intended to comply. In any case, I wouldn't want to listen to an animal caught in a trap all night either. She might call the DNR and ask about regulations in her area, but there might not be much to be done.

As a caution- when I was a kid, trespassing signs occasionally got ignored. I would make certain that your children know they are NOT to go onto your neighbors land for any reason- that if say, a ball gets thrown over the fence they are to tell you not fetch it themselves. If they are old enough, make sure they know he actively hunts over there and has traps set. Traps can easily injure a human just as they can an animal.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Oubliette8

Where I live, you use live traps if you plan on relocating the nuisance animal elsewhere. It sounds like the OP's neighbor is more likely using leg-hold traps, or possibly snares. Those can and DO cause significant suffering to whatever gets caught in them. Sometimes animals will chew their own legs off to escape. I once saw a squirrel caught in a leghold trap in a residential area. I called the DNR as I was afraid children might approach it and get bit, it was making quite a bit of noise. Turns out the trapping was legal so long as he stayed within the guidelines and reported trapping a nuisance animal within a set time frame. Although the officer asked us to keep an eye out because he didn't think our neighbor intended to comply. In any case, I wouldn't want to listen to an animal caught in a trap all night either. She might call the DNR and ask about regulations in her area, but there might not be much to be done.

As a caution- when I was a kid, trespassing signs occasionally got ignored. I would make certain that your children know they are NOT to go onto your neighbors land for any reason- that if say, a ball gets thrown over the fence they are to tell you not fetch it themselves. If they are old enough, make sure they know he actively hunts over there and has traps set. Traps can easily injure a human just as they can an animal.

Good point about it possibly being a different kind of trap.

We have coyotes out here, too, and they do howl all night. They travel alone or maybe w/another coyote, but it can sound like lots of them. It also sets off alot of dogs out here, and they howl like crazy, too.