The images in the following program are highly sensitive and may be as disturbing to viewers as they were to us. However, we have to show the truth about cruelty to animals, praying that you will help to stop it.

We’ve found Soccer, our pet cat of 12 years in this inhumane steel trap, killed instantly or not, we have no idea.

It’s causing severe tissue damage. It’s causing loss of limbs. It’s causing animals to be exposed to sub-zero temperatures, dehydration, all kinds of pain, and things that go along with that.

They maim and they kill in very, very vicious ways.

This is the Stop nimal Cruelty series on Supreme Master Television. Today we will show excerpts from the award- winning documentary “Cull of the Wild: The Truth Behind Trapping,” a film that examines the fur trapping industry in the USA. Trapping is an utterly heinous and indefensible practice that exploits wild animals in the name of pure greed and profit.

Each year in America a staggering number of animals are trapped and killed. At least four million animals are trapped and killed for their fur. And millions more are injured or killed as non-targets, victims of traps set for other species.

The Animal Protection Institute, also known as Born Free USA, a US-based animal advocacy organization, co-produced the “Cull of the Wild” with 21st Paradigm, a non- profit film corporation. Let us now see further excerpts from “Cull of the Wild.”

There is an industry in America, which has existed for over 400 years. Trapping of animals and the fur trade have changed little with the times. Millions of animals are trapped and skinned every year for the vanity of fashion. Trapping is allowed to occur on private property and public lands, from national forest to wilderness areas, even national wildlife refuges.

There are three basic types of traps: the snare, conibear and the most widely used, the steel-jaw leghold.

There it is in a set position. The jaws are open, and as the animal steps on the pad, I’m going to put my finger up from the bottom. It goes off.

So the animal steps on the trap, and you can see what happened there. That’s tremendous force on the leg. That tremendous force first of all is extremely damaging, can be extremely damaging to the leg. It can actually sever the skin, sever tendons, it can actually cause broken bones immediately (when) the trap jaw is snapping shut on a limb.

The animal who is trapped, being a wild animal and being restrained, being the worst thing you could ever do to a wild animal, immediately jumps. They run and lunge with this trap attached to their leg. In so doing, they cause further damage to the leg, and they frequently, that’s one of the big things that are found, there is dislocation of the joints.

The animal lunges and tries to get away, it can’t get away, so what’s the next thing to do? (They) try to bite at the trap. Well you can imagine what happens when teeth bite against hard metal, teeth break. And that’s another source of pain for them. They can’t get away. So then the next thing to do is to bite at their leg. They may chew sufficiently on their leg to actually sever the leg from the trap.

The trapper will come to the set and find that there is a leg there, that the animal has chewed it off, broken it off, or twisted it off.

The snare, a primitive wired noose.

An animal gets caught around a limb or around the neck, depending on how it’s set and what kind of bait is used to entice the animal to get in there. And then when they pull, you can see that gets the snare tighter and tighter and tighter. If it’s around the neck it takes quite a bit of time before it actually kills the animal. If it’s around the leg of course it just holds the animal until the trapper comes and kills her or him.

I’ve had a little bit of experience with some cable snares that I ran into in Alaska (USA). Apparently someone had put them out to trap wolves just outside of Denali National Park. And they had set up a double trap, or double snare set, and the wolf when it was caught, struggled so much and then got caught in the extra traps that it really tore the animal apart. He tore himself apart struggling with these. Snares are diabolical inventions.

Promoted as a humane alternative, the conibear was conceived with the intention of crushing the animals’ spine.

In order for them to be instant kill traps, the jaws have to snap down, somewhere along the upper part of the spinal cord, in order to cause an instantaneous death. Rarely do the animals get into that kind of position. Most of the time when I’ve seen the animals trapped like this, their body is crushed, and their spinal cord is partially crushed. But it’s too low down to cause them to die.

Padded traps are actually an offense to one’s intelligence. There is this narrow piece of rubber on either jaw. But you still have the same degree of force that’s necessary to hold the leg. An offset trap has a piece of metal or a little burr of metal that prevents the jaws from closing completely.

There might be 1/8th of an inch to 3/8th of an inch gap between one side of the jaw and the other. This is absolutely nonsensical because when you think about it, the jaws have met the animal’s leg long before this offset could have any effect. It’s simple physics, it just defies logic why people would think that an offset trap would be humane.

As a veterinarian, I look at the trap as an abominable device that just cannot be allowed to be used, just because it is unconscionably cruel.

Traps are frequently set in water to cause death by drowning. The National Trappers Association euphemistically describes drowning as: “Carbon Dioxide Narcosis” and promotes this as a humane method of killing aquatic mammals.

He bit his tongue against that trap.

With aquatic animals like beavers they are able to hold their breath if you will, for a much longer time than a land animal would, so therefore they feel the effects of being restrained underwater for a much longer time, it can be up to 12 minutes.

Animals targeted for their fur, not killed by trap injuries, predation or exposure are most often clubbed to death, suffocated, or strangled to preserve the pelt.

Excuse me madam, would you like some literature?

No, thank you.

An increasing number of citizens have recognized trapping for what it is, and response to this growing enlightenment, a social movement, continues to gather momentum. Surveys show an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose trapping animals for their fur.

Many of these trappers in many states do not have to be licensed. And yet they are using the same body crushing devices in urban and suburban settings.

Increasing public opposition has encouraged progressive legislators to fight for meaningful industry regulation.

Bringing these indiscriminate traps into suburban areas is an incredible mistake, we are going to see not only the continued degradation of the wildlife and pets, but we’re probably going to see kids or adults who are killed or seriously injured by these devices.

Studies show for every one animal intended to be caught with a trap, up to 10 non-target animals may be unintentionally killed.

One of the big problems with the traps of course, despite claims to the contrary, is that they by their very nature are non-selective in what they catch. And I think this is evidenced by the fact that we see eagles and owls and hawks of various types that are caught in traps. And of course we only see the birds that people bring to us. We believe that that’s probably the tip of the iceberg.

I have no idea how many more birds that are out there that are killed directly or are left to die or, worse yet, really in most cases are released again with the thought that they will be okay. But we know from our experiences in dealing with these birds medically that most trap injuries are very severe. They always result in the loss of any portion of the limb that’s below the trap injury side itself.

Trapping has brought many species to the brink of extinction including wolves, beaver, sea otter and lynx. The US Forest Service, as recently as 1999 conceded lynx are extremely susceptible to trapping. And where permitted, trapping is a significant source of mortality.

Charles Darwin, as early as 1863, was alerting people to the brutality of trapping.

“We shall be told that setting steel traps is the only ways to preserve game. But we cannot believe that Englishman, when their attention is once drawn to the case, will let even this motive weigh against so fearful an amount of cruelty.”

Eighty-eight countries, including the member nations of the European Union have banned leghold traps. Voters of several American states have had to resort to the public ballot initiative process to stop the use of these cruel and indiscriminate devices.

We have to get people involved to go to their elected legislators and say, “Look, we won’t tolerate this anymore.”

As we begin the 21st century, the ethical issue lingers: What will it take to recognize animals as sentient members of our communities, deserving of respect and protection?

The fundamental problem is that we are treating other animals as commodities.

The whole system is just intolerable. It just doesn’t fit in a civilized society.

An 80% majority of Americans favor simply viewing wildlife without killing.

To stop the vicious trapping industry, please say “NO” to all fur products. Please also contact your local government officials and tell them that trapping and the fur trade are unacceptable and that only life-affirming activities should be allowed. Finally, let us halt the suffering of all animals worldwide, by making the switch to the kindhearted and pure vegan lifestyle and avoid the use of all animal products.

We need to begin to establish a new tradition, a new generation of people that understand the beauty that surrounds them and the wonders of the wildlife that’s here.

Thank you Animal Protection Institute and 21st Paradigm for producing “Cull of the Wild” to bring to light why we need to shun fur. Our appreciation also goes to In Defense of Animals for providing us with this film to share with our viewers.

For more information on ending fur trapping, please visit the following websites:
Animal Protection Institute www.BornFreeUSA.org
In Defense of Animals www.FurKills.org

Thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of Stop Animal Cruelty. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May we all live and let live.