Our condominium management company has put out traps in the courtyard, I assume to trap squirrels and/ rats they said were raiding the garbage bins. In addition the squirrels were chewing on some wires. The traps have no identification tags and left all day and night open to the elements with apparently no one checking on them. There is also no bait in them unless they are using invisible bait! My point being something doesn't sound right here, I care for the welfare of animals and don't want the trapped (if any should become trapped) squirrels to die. Should I notify Fish and Wildlife or ??

To legally trap tree squirrels, the management company should have an animal removal permit issued by an IDNR district wildlife biologist or have hired a licensed nuisance wildlife control operator. It is highly unlikely that a squirrel is going to enter a trap that doesn't have any food in it. By law, traps must be checked at least once a day. And any animals that are caught should be removed as soon as possible (i.e. ideally as soon as they are caught, but no longer than 24 hours after they were captured). It is inhumane, and illegal, to leave an animal in a trap without food or water for more than 24 hours. If you find that animals are being left in traps longer than that, you should contact your local IDNR Conservation Police office. Contact information for those offices can be found on the Find a Professional Page of this website.