“It’s not effective, it’s not a long-term solution and it’s just unnecessarily cruel,” said Rebecca Hamlin with the North Texas Wildlife Center.

PLANO, Texas — Wildlife rescue teams are searching for a bobcat injured by a leg-hold metal trap after a video posted on social media sparked outrage.

The video, shared on NextDoor, was recorded at Hoblitzelle Park in Plano. It shows two bobcats on a pedestrian bridge. One appears to be pacing, while the other struggles with a metal leg-hold trap and a chain clamped to its left rear paw.

“It’s really sad,” said Rebecca Hamlin, president of the North Texas Wildlife Center. “There’s a sense of entitlement that we can control the animals. These animals have a right to exist as much as we do.”

Hamlin said her organization is working with rescue teams, including Song Dog Watch, that began searching the Russell Creek watershed Tuesday morning. Their goal is to locate the injured bobcat, remove the trap, and rehabilitate the animal. If possible, it would later be released back into the wild.

“We have these conflicts and people think they can handle it on their own,” she said. “It’s not effective, it’s not a long-term solution and it’s just unnecessarily cruel.”

As for whoever set the trap, Hamlin wants to remind them that the traps are illegal in Plano. City of Plano ordinances also stipulate that “hunting, trapping, or removal of any animal, or to let loose any animal is prohibited” in Plano parks. Hamlin says the traps also pose a threat to pets and humans. Bobcats also play an important role in the local ecosystem by controlling populations of rabbits, rats and mice, she said.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding and fear surrounding these animals,” Hamlin said. “They are vital to our ecosystem.”

If the bobcat is found and survives its injuries, it could be treated by veterinarians who work with the North Texas Wildlife Center, which regularly cares for animals hurt in urban encounters. Hamlin said the center has already taken in more than 1,300 opossums since Jan. 1.

“Please stay away and avoid flocking to the area,” she said of the ongoing search for the injured bobcat. “We need to let the experts handle this.”

Rescuers say their hope is to give the injured bobcat a chance to recover and return to the wild.