A Yarmouth man is in custody after allegedly setting illegal snare traps to choke and kill deer.
A Yarmouth man is in custody after allegedly setting illegal snare traps to choke and kill deer.
On Tuesday, the Yarmouth Division of Natural Resources received reports of deer choke snare traps -- designed to bait, capture and strangle deer -- being used on town property, Yarmouth Police said in a Facebook post.
"A snare is an inhuman killing device which consists of noose set to snare an animal around the neck," police wrote. "Snares depend entirely on the animal's strength to tighten the noose and strangle it."
Snare traps, along with other traps designed to bind fur bearing mammals, were banned by the state's Wildlife Protection Act, which became law after voters approved it via a ballot question in 1996.
Division of Natural Resources Field Supervisor Bill Bonnett inspected the area and found four snares, police said. Authorities then set up trail cameras in an effort to identify the culprit.
On Thursday, a Natural Resources Officer reviewed the photos and identified Yarmouth resident Nathan Adams, 32, who lives near the woods where the traps were set.
That afternoon, officials from the Division of Natural Resources and a Yarmouth police officer interviewed Adams and placed him under arrested.
Adams is charged with using an illegal snare trap, which carries a sentence of up to a $1,000 fine and six months imprisonment for each trap used.