Two wildlife advocacy groups are seeking to halt Maine's early coyote and fox-trapping season, claiming it threatens the Canada lynx. The Animal Welfare Institute and the Wildlife Alliance of Maine today filed a preliminary injunction in Federal District Court in Bangor, alleging that the trapping practices injure and sometimes kill Canada lynx, a species that's listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
"Historically, more lynx have been incidentally trapped in October and November during the early coyote and fox season than any other months and the court has yet to rule on our federal case so we are forced to file this motion to protect lynx from deadly traps," says Camilla Fox, a wildlife consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute, in a statement.
Last year, the two groups filed suit against the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, claiming that since 1999, dozens of lynx have been caught in traps intended for other species.
The two groups say Maine's lynx population, estimated at between 200 and 500 individuals, is under pressure due in part to a 50 percent decline over the past two years of snow shoe hare, its main source of prey. They say the injunction will help protect the lynx while the court case is pending.