CONTENTS
MESSAGE
WHAT’S INSIDE
4
FROM THE
PRESIDENT
Losing
trapping
When recreational trapping
is removed from wildlife
management, society pays the
price in more ways than one
2 President’s Message
A word from Evan
Heusinkveld, President and
CEO of Sportsmen’s Alliance
7 By The Numbers
A recap of legislative bills
that targeted trapping in 2017
9 The Deceived Dozen
How animal-rights
activists have restricted
or banned trapping in a
dozen states
11 Legislative Block
The status of legislation
across the country
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When it comes to wildlife
management today, heroes
abound. Biologists manage our
ecosystems scientifically. Wardens
keep poachers from undermining
that management. And, every
sportsman out there contributes
to the billions of dollars pumped
into that conservation machine
through excise taxes paid on gear
and the purchase of licenses.
Perhaps the most overlooked
hero, however, is the trapper.
Our first responders,
trappers play an integral, and
often overlooked, role in wildlife
management. They provide
biologists with important data on
everything from overall ecosystem
health to that of individual species
– and they do it better and before
anyone else. Trappers protect our
ecosystems, families and pets
from diseases, and they save cities
and suburbs tens of millions of
dollars doing so.
Not only are trappers the
first to notice changes in our
ecosystems and population levels,
they’re the first to answer the call
when animal-rights activists attack
hunters in general. Whether it’s
an attack on hounds and bait for
predators or legislation restricting
trail cameras or bowhunting for
deer, we constantly see trappers
rally to protect what’s right.
And trappers do this while
bearing the brunt of attacks by
animal-rights activists. As you’ll
see in this issue, trappers face
constant legislation at the state
and federal levels, which includes
everything from trap type and
locations to public-land use and
even possession of traps. No other
group faces such persecution.
While it might be easy to
dismiss the attacks on trappers,
that would be a big mistake.
For as trapping goes, so goes
hunting in general. The animal-
rights movement uses the same
emotional arguments to restrict or
end trapping, as they have done
in 12 states, through legislation
or ballot initiatives, as they do to
attack other types of hunting.
Trappers have long been the
standard bearer in the battle with
the animal-rights movement. It’s
time for all sportsmen to return the
favor and support trappers.
Evan Heusinkveld | President and CEO