http://www.furfishgame.com/featured_articles/Archived/2009-03/trapline_03_09.php
Trapping furbearers has been a
way of life for some families for generations, it might be the only income that
a family has if they are living where they do not have the opportunity for
another job or if they are trying to make a living just off the land. Trapping
isn’t just to make money either, it helps out other populations of animals too.
Trapping has been viewed by some people as inhuman or not ethical because of
the traps used or just overall killings of the animals. Without trapping we
could be overrun by many different predators and start seeing significant
declines in other animal populations.
Why is trapping being frowned
upon by most of the public population that are non-trappers? Basically the
public is just looking at the animal that is caught in the trap, they are
seeing the animal being physically held back and some will say that they are
suffering while being held in the trap. Many people oppose the foothold trap
saying it hurts the animal and it suffers, or what if you catch a non-target species,
it now has a broken foot and you cannot release it because it will not be able
to survive. The answer to that is yes that can be true but trapping is heavily
regulated and the traps have to have specific specifications to them, not
saying injury can’t happen but it is less likely with the trapping regulations.
There needs to be a way to help the public understand trapping and hopefully
give them some insight on what the benefits are.
To educate the public on
trapping I think we need to implement a more public approach and hold programs
to educate people more on it. Yes we do have the trapping course you have to
complete before you can trap but I think there needs to be a program that is
focused on what trapping is and what the benefits of trapping are to present to
the public who might not know what trapping truly is other than just catching an
animal in a trap. We need to promote how the traps have been improved and
explain other ways and methods furbearers can be taken. I know that people even
though with seeing what trapping is all about will still not accept it but as
long as we present them with the information and what trapping really involves
they might not oppose it as much. If we talk more publically and maybe come up
with programs or even a short promotional video that tells the truth about
trapping, we can get more people to accept it.
I have been talking about the
benefits of trapping a lot in this so what are the benefits of trapping?
Trapping animals has many benefits, it can be used as income, a hobby or ways
to control animal populations in your area along with a way to study wildlife.
Wildlife biologists use trapping as a way to monitor the population of animals
in an area and how healthy they are. They look for diseases in the population and
if the population is healthy enough to be trapped that year or if a management
plan needs to be put in place. Trapping has been used to protect endangered
species from becoming extinct by lowering the predator population due to
trapping and hunting. Another benefit trapping has is all the proceeds that are
collected by the sales of trapping and furbearer licenses are put back into
improving wildlife and their habitat, it is one of the ways the Pennsylvania
Game Commission is funded. It maintains a healthy population of the animal
also, with less animals in the area you do not have to worry about sick animals
because of competing for food sources and starvation is not a factor in how the
animals are dying.
In conclusion trapping is not a
bad thing or should be frowned upon, it is actually beneficial to the animals
and the habitat. Trapping just gets a bad reputation because people talk
without knowing what the actual facts and what trapping actually does in a
wildlife management practice. What I suggest to get people to understand the
art of trapping is to have programs that explain what is all involved in
trapping and what the benefits are of trapping. This will not change everyone’s
opinion on the topic but it might help them understand more than they did before.
Through public education we can help the general public understand more than
they did and although it might not produce an influx of trappers going out it
will help with knowledge and practice of trapping.
Colton Treaster
Citation
"Traps,
Trapping, and Furbearer Management." The
Wildlife Society (n.d.): n.
pag. The Wildlife Society.
Web. 2 Mar. 2017.
http://www.furfishgame.com/featured_articles/Archived/2009-03/trapline_03_09.php
Trapping has been around for century's. I do not actually trap, but i do have friends that trap. Even though some people are against, because of the damage that it can cause to non-target game species. Also, like you said trapping can help look for diseases in animals by how they are capturing the animals. I believe, that trapping should be aloud as long as you are doing it the most human way possible.
ReplyDeleteHello Ms. Mueller,
ReplyDeleteI believe that trapping is a great way to control certain animal populations. Trapping is not only an efficient way to manage that species population, but it also helps test for diseases and understand the animal better. Many people believe trapping is wrong because it is inhumane and are harmless animals, but without trapping these animals can over populate in some regions. I think trapping is very efficient and allows people to enjoy and protect the wildlife and their habitat. Trapping has occurred for many years, why should we remove it now?