It might be one of the cruelest ways a hunter can kill a wolf.

In Idaho and Montana, it is legal to use metal snares to catch and kill wolves. The lucky ones are killed quickly; the unlucky can suffer for days.

It smelled irresistible.

To the wolf it caught, the snare smelled like nothing more than beaver and fox. It smelled like a meal. And it was the last one he would ever eat.

Wolves living in Idaho and Montana could walk into a trap like this at any moment.

Last year, both states radically expanded wolf hunting and trapping. Now, wolves can be killed in any number of horrific and unnecessary ways.

Wolves can be spotted using night vision equipment, or they can be chased down to exhaustion by hunters riding ATVs and snowmobiles. They can even be shot and killed from helicopters.

All of these tactics make a mockery of the hunting principle of “fair chase” — but one tactic rises above many of the others in its cruelty.

And that’s the snares.

When they do their job properly, they wrap tight around a wolf’s neck, starving its brain of blood and killing it quickly.

More often than not, however, things don’t go to plan. Snares that constrict themselves around a wolf’s snout or limb will leave the animal trapped in immense pain until the hunter can arrive and kill them. Sometimes this lasts a couple hours, sometimes a couple days.

Sign your name to Environment Actions's petition and tell Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shop to remove this inhumane piece of equipment from their shelves. No living creature should have to endure this sort of cruelty.

Paid for by Environmental Action. Does not equal endorsement.