Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Effective January 1, 1990 California law required that all steel-jawed leghold traps be inspected at least daily and all animals in such traps be removed. The inspection and removal could be performed by the individual who set the traps, the landowner, or an agent of either. Prior to the passage of this law, California Animal Damage Control (ADC) personnel were exempt from Department of Fish and Game trap checking regulations. The data suggest that a decrease in trap use occurred after the implementation of the daily trap check. Where the program could effectively substitute other control tools or methods for the leghold trap, impacts to cooperators serviced and coyotes taken per unit of effort were minimal.