Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act

This bill amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to establish a comprehensive prohibition on the possession or use of body-gripping traps within the National Wildlife Refuge System. A body-gripping trap is defined broadly to include steel-jaw, leghold, kill-type, and snare traps, designed to physically restrain or kill wildlife, but specifically excludes cage or box traps and suitcase-type live beaver traps. Key exceptions to this prohibition allow Federal agencies to use such traps for controlling invasive species or protecting threatened or endangered species , provided all viable nonlethal methods have been explored and documented. Further exceptions apply to the System in Alaska and permit members of federally recognized Indian Tribes to use these traps for subsistence purposes. The dismantling of body-gripping traps is also exempt from the prohibition. Violations of this prohibition carry significant penalties, including civil fines of up to $500 per trap or use, imprisonment for up to 180 days, or both. Additionally, any illegally possessed or used trap and any wildlife captured by it are subject to forfeiture to the United States, and convicted individuals must pay associated court costs. The Secretary of the Interior is mandated to issue necessary regulations within 120 days, and the amendments become effective 120 days after enactment.