Animal 411

Unintended ‘Leg Hold’ Trapping of Fox on Briscoe Road Prompts Concerns

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After a leg hold trap inadvertently caught a red fox in New Canaan on Wednesday morning, officials are cautioning residents who authorize use of the devices on their properties to ensure that non-targeted animals aren’t suffering needlessly in them. Rosemary DeClue of Briscoe Road notified the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section after spotting the fox caught in a next-door neighbor’s trap that was meant for coyotes, just over her property line. DeClue said she had noticed a contraption of some sort, set in plain view from her home, near a wood pile, but wasn’t sure what it was until about 8 a.m. Wednesday morning when “all the sudden, I saw something jumping around and it was a fox caught in a trap.”

The owner of a Labrador retriever and two smaller dogs (Havanese), DeClue said she’s concerned about her own dogs getting past her fence and into the trap and that she opposes trapping in principle. “No one knows how long this fox was there,” she said. DeClue remained outside until her neighbor’s hired trapper arrived and set the fox free, she said.

Animal 411

Officials: Increasing Number of Bow Hunters in New Canaan for Deer Season

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Officials expect New Canaan this fall and winter to top the 50 deer hunters who checked in last season with local police for placement on private properties in town to kill the animals with bow and arrow. Though the hunters don’t need to register with the town, many contact the Animal Control ahead of the Sept. 15 to Dec. 31 bow hunting season, because officers there know which private property owners are seeking to reduce the number of deer on their land. Like much of the state, Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said, New Canaan has seen an increase in the number of archers that come here to hunt deer.