October 18, 2007
Trapping should be scrapped
There are a lot of factual errors in Joseph Gill’s letter: First of all, Jen Nitz has stated correctly that trappers are not required to check their traps at “any given time interval.” Fish, Wildlife and Parks merely recommends that trappers check their traps every 48 hours. FWP officials will tell you that the word should does not imply required. Also, FWP does not monitor trappers’ activities at all – it’s all a Good ‘Ol’ Boy agreement. This means all animals, even endangered species, linger in body-gripping traps or snares for an unknown period of time. While being trapped, these animals are exposed to extreme temperatures, predation, and most importantly, they suffer. Some animals chew through the limb caught in a leghold-trap, something trappers nonchalantly refer to as “wring off.” Other animals are caught in snares and slowly suffocate; water-set body-gripping traps slowly kill beavers who may struggle for up to 20 minutes before they drown. The most commonly used trap is the leghold trap, which the American Veterinary Medical Association depicts as inhumane.
There are three killing methods that the Trapper Education manual recommends. The first is shooting the animal in the head. The next is striking smaller animals (such as raccoons or foxes) at the base of the skull with a heavy wooden or metal tool to kill or render them unconscious. The third is placing your foot over the heart and chest area and compressing these organs until the animal dies. Furbearing animals, in the trappers’ language are reduced to “fur” as if the animal doesn’t exist; they’re killed to make money by ripping off their skins. This is what Joseph called ethical trapping.
As for the (known) incidents of dogs that have died in traps, here are just a few examples: Buddy, a black lab, suffocated in a trap. So did a former co-worker’s German Shepard, this dog took an hour to suffocate in a trap. Tio, a Great Pyrenees, got caught in a leghold trap and was shot by a trapper who “got tired of trapping dogs.” Most recently, a sweet dog named Cupcake died in a trap set near Rock Creek, a popular recreation area for families, hikers with dogs and anglers.
In response to Joseph’s claim about a leash law for dogs: Unless the area is a special management area, there is NO leash law on public lands; therefore I don’t break the law by hiking with my dog off-leash.
Next, Joseph said “Any public area that is open for trapping is clearly marked.” This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. The public has no chance to know where those traps are; efforts by Montana citizens in recent years to strengthen trapping regulations – including posting warning signs to let the public know about ongoing trapping activity – have been greatly ignored, due to the influence of the Montana Trappers Association. Areas where traps are being set and that recreationists, such as skiers, use are increasingly overlapping, as evidenced by a last winter’s incident when my friend’s dog got caught in a snare along Lee Creek. Even hunting dogs are in danger of getting injured or dying in traps. I know of two hunters whose bird-hunting dogs got caught in snares set around an elk carcass. Both dogs were rescued at the last minute as they were suffocating.
I thought Joseph’s claim that the meat of animals killed in traps is distributed to homeless shelters was interesting, so I followed up with a call to the Food Bank and the Poverello Center. I found out how much meat they receive from trappers – NONE. Neither place has ever heard of trappers offering meat from trapped animals. And, yes, hunters distribute meat to shelters, trappers don’t. Trappers are takers, not givers.
Finally, the claim that trapping is a Montana heritage doesn’t mean that society should continue to tolerate this cruel anachronism. Slavery is part of our heritage – does Joseph suggest that we should have continued enslaving humans?
Next time, Joseph, don’t just check your traps, check your facts, and don’t let anyone use you to disseminate false information. Do your own research, that’s what serious students do.
Anja Heister
Ph.D. student
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