A national environmental group sued the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Thursday, reigniting a decade-old fight over animal trapping in northern Minnesota.
The DNR is allowing hunters and trappers to set snares and other traps for small game — such as coyotes, martens and bobcats — but are also capturing and killing the federally protected Canada lynx, the Center for Biological Diversity argues in the lawsuit.
"It's really frustrating that the DNR knows its trapping program is capturing lynx, but it refuses to take a few common sense steps needed to prevent it," said Collette Adkins, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.
Canada lynx have become incredibly rare in Minnesota, with a population somewhere between 50 and 200 animals, according to the latest assessment from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Lynx are about the size of bobcats, with big feet that act like snowshoes allowing them to easily walk over deep snowdrifts. They're native to northern Minnesota and have been given endangered species protections since 2000.
While the lynx are protected from being targeted by hunters, they get caught in snares and foothold traps set up for other animals.
At least 16 lynx have been trapped in Minnesota since 2008, according to the center. At least six of those died.
"One of the most common traps that are catching lynx here are these strangulation sneers, where a cable wire tightens around neck," Adkins said. "The problem with those is they are so indiscriminate as to what gets caught, we would hope the DNR would restrict them in lynx habitat."