Washington State Law: Illegal to Trap Moles

We’ve all seen the telltale earthen mounds that they leave in our perfectly manicured yard, but what types of rights do moles have? Recently, in Washington State, voters have enacted a law that would make any sort of trapping of moles illegal. Under the new law, anyone wishing to rid themselves of a mole would have to wait all day and night at the mole hole in order for the mole to come out.

This law was created in order to reduce undue suffering by animals due to misplaced bear traps and the like that were left in the wilderness without a second thought. This law has, however, created an environment where it is illegal to kill moles that destroy beautiful yards. It is quite interesting to note that mouse traps are unaffected by this law, does that mean that moles are somewhat more loved than mice? Anyone that’s seen a Disney movie knows that this is not true, and that is because Disney movies often feature loveably mice. I have yet to see a loveable mole.

Remember how I said that in order to rid yourself of a mole under current laws, that you would have to wait by the mole hole for hours on end? Well that is exactly what you would have to do to catch someone violating the new trapping law. And that is just what wildlife officer Lance Stevens did. He waited in an unmarked police car before a suspected mole trapper’s (killer’s) house, and surveyed his house until he went out to his yard to kill the offending creature.

Why is it that we, as United States, citizens tolerate these kinds of frivolous laws? Moles can create dangerous environments and in some extreme cases, mole holes have led to the amputation of legs. Yes, that’s right a Washington state high school soccer coach had to have his leg amputated after his foot got caught in a mole hole during practice. Why must we create laws that are so sensitive about the pain and suffering that small animals may go through, but so ignorant to the pain and suffering that real people must experience?

To make things even more ridiculous owning or selling the mole traps is still legal. This brings on imagines of a land where local grocery stores would be able to sell cocaine, and people would be able to possess it. But beware, because if you use it, there will be hell to pay! Despite these heinous laws deputies did agree that enforcing these new laws is a relatively low priority task. Legislators even agreed that the law was intended to combat commercial trapping industries, not the pest control business.

Why is it that laws are so often passed without any concern for the unintended consequences?