The fox was not suffering at all. A trapper can easily release that fox from a foothold trap (if so desired) and he will run away with hardly a limp. The only thing that a foothold does is squeeze the foot and make it lose feeling. There is nothing damaging about it. Most canines are sleeping quietly when the trapper checks his traps, after they have struggled before their foot fell asleep. Snap a trap on your fingers sometime and test it yourself. It's not a big deal.
That fox was struggling because he saw the coyote coming, plain and simple.
And yes you did the right thing, as it is absolutely illegal for anyone to mess with another's traps in NoDak. Most trappers would take major offense and rightly so.
