Foot-hold Trap Education Joins Rattlesnake Avoidance

Hunters and other dog enthusiasts now have another reason to attend an upcoming Rattlesnake Avoidance Training Day in Boise. Fish and Game officers will be presenting a trap awareness seminar as part of the day's events. To learn more about the training day, visit http://www.snakeavoidance.org/. The combined event will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, August 11, at Veterans' Memorial Park - State Street and Veterans' Parkway in Boise. The cost of the rattlesnake avoidance training is $40 per dog, but the trap awareness seminar is free. The trap awareness seminar is designed for anyone who regularly takes their dogs to the Boise foothills, other outlying areas and even the greenbelt. "Most dog owners are unfamiliar with traps of any kind," Fish and Game conservation officer Kurt Stieglitz said. "This seminar will provide them with some very practical tools related to trapping, including the steps to take if a pet dog ever ends up in a trap." Stieglitz and fellow officer Brian Flatter will discuss the different types of traps that might be encountered, including foot-hold traps, body-gripping traps and snares, how each trap type works and how to safely release a pet from a trap. Other topics to be covered include trapping seasons, areas to avoid while walking your pet, trapping rules, and what to do if a trap is encountered. For more information regarding the trap awareness seminar, contact the Idaho Fish and Game Nampa office at 208-465-8465. For more information regarding the Rattlesnake Avoidance Training Day, contact Heidi Funke at 208-463-2304 or visit http://www.snakeavoidance.org/.