# Plain Language Summary: Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act of 2021

This bill would ban the use of body-gripping traps across all National Wildlife Refuges in the United States. Body-gripping traps are devices designed to kill or capture animals by physically restraining them, including steel-jaw leghold traps, kill-type traps, and snares. The ban would apply to anyone—whether they're a private citizen, hunter, or trapper—who tries to use these traps on refuge lands. The only traps that would still be allowed are cage traps and live beaver traps, which capture animals without injuring them.

There are a few narrow exceptions to this ban. Federal agencies could still use body-gripping traps if they're trying to control invasive species or protect endangered animals, but only after they've documented that they've tried all other non-lethal methods first. People could also still receive training on how to dismantle these traps. Anyone caught violating the ban would face fines of up to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 plus up to six months in jail for repeat offenses. Any traps and any animals caught in them would be seized by the government.

The practical impact of this bill would be felt primarily by trappers and hunters who currently use these methods on refuge lands. For most visitors and wildlife enthusiasts, the change would mean that animals in these refuges would be protected from these types of traps. The bill reflects a shift toward less harmful wildlife management practices, though it does preserve the government's ability to use these traps in specific situations where protecting endangered species or controlling invasive animals is necessary and other methods haven't worked.

Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act of 2021

Nadler, Jerrold

Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act of 2021 This bill prohibits, with specified exceptions, the use or possession of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The bill imposes on persons who possess or use such traps in the system (1) for a first offense, a civil fine of up to $500 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used; and (2) for subsequent offenses, a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used, imprisonment for up to 180 days, or both such a civil fine and imprisonment. The bill makes any body-gripping traps that are possessed or used in violation of this bill, and any wildlife captured by the use of such traps, including the pelts and raw fur, subject to civil forfeiture. Persons found to be in violation of such prohibition shall pay all associated court costs.