The Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act would ban the possession and use of body-gripping traps—including steel-jaw leghold traps, kill-type traps, and snares—across the entire National Wildlife Refuge System. The bill would take effect 120 days after passage, though it includes limited exceptions allowing federal agencies to use these traps when controlling invasive species or protecting endangered or sensitive species, provided all nonlethal alternatives have been thoroughly attempted and documented. The law also exempts Alaska refuges, members of federally recognized Indian tribes using traps for subsistence purposes, and anyone dismantling existing traps. Violations would result in civil fines up to $500 per trap or per use (adjusted annually for inflation), imprisonment up to 180 days, or both, along with forfeiture of the traps and any wildlife caught. The Secretary of the Interior has 120 days to issue implementing regulations, though lack of regulations would not delay the law's enforcement.
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