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DNR tables rule setting on using technology to check traps after trappers raise enforcement, animal-welfare concerns
Summary
The Natural Resources Board postponed consideration of the department's wildlife management rule that would set standards for electronic monitoring of traps after trappers and Conservation Congress delegates asked for more time to weigh enforcement and animal welfare implications.
The Natural Resources Board on June 25, 2025, voted to table for further discussion a board order that would place standards in code for hunters and trappers using electronic technology to monitor traps.
The department's presenter, Scott Carroll, regulation policy specialist for the Bureau of Wildlife Management, told the board the item was brought forward because a legal review found the existing rules do not prohibit using remote technology to check a trap and no statutory standards exist to govern how that technology is used. "What we heard from our legal staff is that the current rules don't prohibit this already," Carroll said, describing the rule package as an effort to set minimum standards for notification, record keeping and fallbacks to in-person checks.
Rob Bowman, chairman of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, and representatives of the Trappers Association urged the board to delay. Bowman and other delegates told the board trappers are concerned about enforcement and whether someone who places a trap far from home can reliably respond within the times described by the draft rule. Bowman recommended tabling the item so trappers and department staff could work through outstanding issues.
Department counsel Diane Miligan told the board its options were to table the entire board order or amend the package to remove the technology provision, then return with a separate board order. Board members said they wanted more time to consult with stakeholders and noted the rule would not take effect in time to change fall seasons this year.
Board member Robin Schmidt moved to table the entire package until a future meeting and Patty Schachner seconded. The motion carried.
The board did not adopt the proposed WM 17-24 provisions on trap-monitoring standards at this session; instead it postponed the final decision to allow more stakeholder engagement and legal/implementation work.
The department said the draft rule would have required a centralized application for imagery and notifications, record-keeping to demonstrate notifications were being received, and a requirement that failure of the technology revert the trapper to in-person checks. The department also noted the draft included a 24-hour response standard after notification of an animal in a trap, consistent with existing practice.
