The Outdoors section of the Sun-Gazette Jan. 31 contained a heartbreaking article about a man losing his dog to an illegal trap. Some poacher (what else to call a person using an oversize trap without a tag) had carelessly placed the trap where another's pet could fall victim to it. The article went on to describe in gruesome detail how the owner had watched his pet die in the trap. The dog owner was understanding toward the poacher/trapper and recognized that the intent was not to kill his dog. However, the poacher/trapper did intend that exact, cruel death for some animal, he just didn't know what it would be. Why anyone would engage in such a despicable pastime is beyond me. Why doesn't Pennsylvania require that any trap placed in public areas be brightly marked so that pet owners or those with small children will know to avoid the area. Better yet, why not ban such a cruel activity outright? I, for one, am willing to risk the occasional raccoon sighting out in the wild.