But nothing could be
further from the truth.
While the image of a self-sufficient Grizzly Adams-type protagonist romanticizes trapping for those
who partake in the endeavor, the animal-rights movement uses the same image to epitomize it’s
outdated relevance according to their view. And that message and imagery, perverted by animalrights organizations, resounds with the non-hunting public (and even some sportsmen). Those who don’t
understand the role sportsmen play in conservation in general, won’t bother to even try to understand a
practice that doesn’t seem “sporting.”
Unlike hunting and fishing, trapping lacks the public appeal of implied sportsmanship, and appears
barbaric and ruthless to the uninitiated. But the truth of the matter is: skill and know-how are definitely
required, and at the end of the day, hunting and trapping are both management tools used to keep
wildlife populations balanced between predator and prey species and available habitat; the one-degree
of separation wholly falls within the efficiency and target species.
As a community, hunters and fishermen need to support and understand the importance of trapping and
relate that significance to non-hunters; for when animal-rights activists eliminate trapping, they’ll inevitably
use the same logic, lack of reasoning and emotional outcry to eliminate other endeavors – dog hunting, bait
hunting, bowhunting and more – until they achieve their ultimate goal of ending hunting totally.
Why We Need Trapping
When hunting and trapping are rightly view as
management tools as opposed to “sports,” the
true value and need for their existence is easy for
reasonable people to comprehend (even if they still
don’t wholly understand or approve). The ultimate
goal of conservation, which hunting, fishing and
trapping are cornerstones, is not to save every
individual animal in a forest or prairie, but to ensure
the survival of species of animals as a whole, as well
as to protect the environment in which they live.
Trapping gives biologists a more effective tool to
control populations of animals not usually targeted by
hunters or those that are elusive enough to continue
to exceed the carrying capacity of the local habitat.
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SPORTSMEN’S MONTHLY
February | 2016
Furbearers such as beavers, raccoons, muskrat,
skunks and nutria aren’t targeted successfully enough
by hunters to control their populations and to keep
them in an acceptable range that balances with their
environment. The ramifications of which negatively
impacts, even kills, the very habitat that supports the
species, as well as all the other species that depend
on those same surroundings. An overabundant species
will eventually eat itself out of house and home, and in
the long run will suffer greater overarching harm that
extends to many other species and the landscape.
By their very nature, a trap line increases the
odds of success because they are continuously in
the target animal’s environment. During any given
period, a trap line is more likely to encounter the
target animal than a solitary hunter.
In the case of some nocturnal creatures or waterbased animals (such as beavers and muskrats), traps
might be the only way to reasonably remove the
necessary number of animals from an area and stop the
damage they cause. When it comes to elusive animals,
such as coyotes, wolves and bears, which have large
home ranges and no set pattern of movements, traps
can be the most effective removal tool.
At the end of the day, hunting and trapping
are management tools, and wildlife managers
need every tool at their disposal to effectively
and humanely manage wildlife. It comes down
to success rates among hunters and trappers, the
carrying capacity of the habitat and estimated
animal populations. Removing tools from biologists’
hands only serves to hurt the long-term survival of a
species, the habitat they occupy and all the species
connected to that habitat.
Ramifications of Trapping Bans
When trapping is removed for a species, mortality
rates naturally drop. More animals live longer in a
given area, and more reproduce. Their impact upon
the environment multiplies accordingly, and that
impact can damage the land, other animals and
humans. The costs to rectify the situation hit from
many sides and compound without trapping.
Furbearers are small but industrious animals
that can wreak havoc. Beaver dams can damage
human water supplies and can change a forest
stream habitat into a forest swamp. Their activity
causes millions of dollars of damage to