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SANDY — Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation officials have warned people to use caution while hiking in Dimple Dell Regional Park after someone found an animal trap near a trail.
Monica Zoltanski, president of the Dimple Dell Preservation Community, said someone emailed her Thursday about the trap. It was concealed under leaves just a few steps away from the Dry Creek Trail, where people and pets walk.
“Of course, it’s really concerning because it’s so close to a busy trail,” Zoltanski said. “It was an obvious public safety hazard. There's dog walkers and hikers, and kids down here, not to mention wildlife.”
Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation prohibits hunting, including setting traps, in all its parks.
The trap was removed, and parks and recreation workers put up signs warning hikers to be careful, just in case there were more traps.
“It’d be truly sad if a dog or a horse or cat or any other type of animal were trapped in that,” said Wayne Johnson, associate division director at Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation. “If there’s a little kid poking around, that would be the worst. It would snap his hand.”
Officers from Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources said trapping is legal in other areas if the person has a furbearer license, and the trap must be marked with a registration number.
Johnson said the trap found at Dimple Dell was not marked, so it will be difficult to determine who left it there.
