British Columbia woman seeks action after dog dies in baited snare

Victoria Savile is calling for action after her family dog Berta died in a baited snare near their home in the Pablo Creek area west of Williams Lake, British Columbia.

The five-year-old Maremma livestock guardian dog was adopted in Alberta and had helped protect the family's property and their neighbours' sheep and goats from predators.

“She was an absolute sweetheart and her life was taken from us.”

Savile said she had never seen a snare or bait, nor been told a trapping line was present, until a neighbour found Berta's body on Sunday, October 18 while riding an all-terrain vehicle.

She called the RAPP line that morning, and conservation officers arrived in less than an hour to remove the trap and helped load Berta's body into the family truck so she could be buried in the backyard.

Savile has joined The Fur-Bearers, a Canadian wildlife protection charity, and is working with Nicole Trigg, whose dog Moon was killed by a baited trap on a public service road in the East Kootenays earlier this year.

The Fur-Bearers said freedom-of-information records document 100 incidents involving pets caught in wildlife traps in British Columbia between 2015 and 2023, and believes the true number is likely higher because not all incidents are reported.