GREAT FALLS – Members of a Florence-based group called Footloose Montana are circulating petitions to ban trapping on public land.
The group formed in 2007 to oppose trapping on public land after a dog named Cupcake was killed in a trap while on a walk with her owner. Footloose Montana has since spawned Montanans For Trap Free Public Lands, which is promoting the initiative. The group contends that trapping brutally kills animals.
Trappers say the trapping plays an important role in controlling wildlife numbers. Great Falls trapper Josh Lodge says beaver will cause problems in the state’s water ways if trapping is banned.
The group must gather more than 24,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot.