Topeka ? A Salina man is calling on the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to ban kill traps on public hunting land to protect pets — and people.

Carson Mansfield — a deputy Salina police chief — watched his 20-month-old beagle die in the steel jaws of a conibear trap while rabbit hunting near Kanopolis Lake on Feb. 14. Mansfield said his dog, “Bella,” was dead within six minutes, despite his frantic attempts to free her.

The traps are designed to kill small animals that are harvested for their fur.

When he complained about the traps to state officials, he was asked to appear before the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting in Topeka Thursday. Mansfield requested that the traps be banned from public hunting lands, and asked that people who come to Kansas to use those lands be made aware of the danger.