In response to a question by Committee member on bill H-7859 regarding the use of the leg hold trap, DEM officials stated that Leg Hold trap cannot be used in Rhode Island and would not be used to kill river otter while knowing full well that RI State Law Title 20 Section 20-16-8 states…”any person may apply in writing to the director of the department of environmental management for a special permit to use a steel jawed leg hold trap…”

Make no mistake about it; this barbaric tool will be used if H-7859 becomes law. The bill, if it becomes law, will not only take protection away from the river otter, which has been protected for decades in RI but also will involve the trapping of otter that will die from drowning when trapped, which is, without a doubt, animal cruelty.