October 10, 2007
Guest column ignorant of heritage
I was quite appalled by Ms. Nitz’s lack of knowledge about Montana’s trapping laws and heritage in the recent editorial about her views on the trapping float that won the award for best float for a non-profit organization at the UM Homecoming.
It is quite obvious to me that Ms. Nitz didn’t take the time to actually read the regulations that surround trapping in Montana. Unlike what Ms. Nitz had to say “Trappers in Montana aren’t required to check their trap lines in any given time interval...” The exact opposite is true. Trappers ARE required to check their trap lines. As stated in the 2007 Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Trapping regulations manual, trappers are required to do the following, “Traps should be checked at least once every 48 hours. It is the trappers’ responsibility to check his/her traps regularly. Failure to pick up traps or snares at the end of the trapping season or attending them in a manor that waste animals constitutes a misdemeanor per MCA 87-3-506.” That being said, any ethical trapper who runs his/her trap line checks their traps on a regular basis. Nitz states that “A suffering, terrified animal who isn’t fortunate enough to die quickly is at the mercy of the trapper to show up and bludgeon him or her to end the agony.” Any trapper, who is ethical, responsible and is following Montana state law, WILL quickly and efficiently dispatch any animals that are not killed by the trap or snare. By dispatching the animal they will NOT bludgeon the animal to death because that would be a waste of the meat provided by the animal, which would be against the law.
I don’t know where Ms. Nitz is getting her statistics for “high-profile companion dog deaths” but as a trapper and responsible dog owner, what I do know is it just doesn’t happen. Any dog that wanders into a trap is quite easy to get free. Also any dog wandering farther than the legal distance required for a trapper to place his traps is not legal at all. The dog owner, who lets their pet run more than 50 feet off of any public trail or road, where trapping is legal, is breaking the law. That law just in case Ms. Nitz forgot, is the leash law. (Fifty feet is the legal distance required by a trapper, set by the state, as the closest he/she can set their trap lines to a public hiking trail or road. Most animals that are fur bearing don’t make homes or trails any where near a public trail or road.) This is not to say that I think that it is humane for a pet / dog to get itself in a trap, but if the dog owner is responsible for their dog, than it wouldn’t be there in the first place. Any public area that is open for trapping is clearly marked that way. Also most people would not occupy most of the areas open for trapping during trapping season anyway.
Again I find another obvious thing that Ms. Nitz knows nothing about Montana’s rich trapping heritage. Montana was founded by people both native and non-native that subsided themselves on game and furs. Game that some of which was taken with traps. Ms. Nitz also probably doesn’t know that a good portion of the meat that is obtained by trappers (and hunters as well) gets donated to homeless shelters and livestock/pet feed manufactures. Not to mention the fact that trapping also provides a source of natural castor oil which is used to produce perfumes and colognes among other things. Let’s not forget to mention that yes people do still make money on fur, money that in Montana can be hard to come by for some folks in the winter.
So as a tribute to the Montana Trappers Assocation, I encourage people to buy fur products and wear them to campus with pride. Thanks for supporting trappers in Montana.
Joseph Gill
sophomore, forestry
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