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B.C. dog owner sues after pet killed in beaver trap

A Kamloops man is suing the operator of a trapline north of the city after his dog died
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—Kamloops this Week

A Kamloops man is suing the operator of a trapline north of the city after his dog died last year when it was caught in a beaver trap.

Burke Nesjan is seeking more than $15,000 in compensation, including more than $10,000 for loss of companionship and mental suffering following the death of his two-year-old akita, Kuma.

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According to a notice of claim filed in Kamloops provincial court, Nesjan was driving to work along a forest road near Little Fort on Nov. 14, 2017, when he stopped to let Kuma take a bathroom break.

Little Fort is about an hour north of Kamloops on Highway 5 North.

“After a couple minutes, I noticed that Kuma was not nearby as normal and called him but he did not come back,” Nesjan’s claim reads.

“I walked behind my pickup a few metres and noticed Kuma in the ditch making a funny noise.”

According to Nesjan’s claim, Kuma’s neck was caught in a trap.

“He was still alive and I tried to remove the trap as quick as possible,” the claim states. “I have never seen this type of device before, so it took several minutes to figure it out in a panicked situation. … Kuma died in my arms after a significant amount of suffering.”

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Nesjan’s claim states the trap was located 12 metres from the edge of Darlington Forest Service Road.

“I don’t think that it is reasonable to set a powerful killing trap that requires special tools to open at a well-defined pullout on a well-maintained, high public- and industrial-use mainline forest service road,” the claim states.

The defendant, Paul Michel of Summerland, has not filed a response.

None of Nesjan’s claims have been proven in court.

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