January 26, 2016
From MPNNow.com
Man charged in illegal trapping case that killed beloved pet is animal control officer
One of the two Seneca County men facing charges in the case of a pet dog killed in a trap along the fence at the former Seneca Army Depot is the nuisance animal control officer for Seneca Falls.
The officer, Clint K. Moosman, 53, and James W. Brown, 80, were charged with multiple counts of setting body-gripping traps larger than 6 inches and failing to identify traps as required by law. One of the traps killed Molly Rose, an 8-year-old yellow Lab, who was walking on a leash outside the depot with Laurena Jensen, 18. The trap snapped shut around the dog’s neck, and despite efforts to save Molly, the dog died at the scene.
Officers issued a total of 12 tickets to Brown and Moosman. The maximum penalty for each ticket is a $250 fine and/or 15 days in jail. Since their traps had been set over a distance that spanned two different towns, the men are scheduled to appear in the town of Varick Court at 7 p.m. Feb. 10 and the town of Romulus Court at 10 a.m. Feb. 12 to answer to the charges.
Three days after Molly was killed, Laurena’s father, Brian Jensen, found a coyote trapped along the depot fence in the same kind of body-gripping trap, though a larger type, a Conibear 330. The coyote, still alive, was euthanized after Brian called a DEC officer.