# wondering why trapping is thoght to be inhumane



## what-a-stihl (Feb 17, 2010)

I'm a trapper/hunter and I trap in the most humane way possible. Traps are checked everyday, animals are dispatched quickly, and most traps are body hold traps so the animal is dispatched quickly by the trap itself. I can't stand the stereotype of trapping being inhumane, I've seen many hunting practices that were far more inhumane than any trapping experiences I've had. It's all about the sportsman and his or her ethics rather than the sport itself. What say'th you?


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## lone wolf (Feb 17, 2010)

well what about peoples pets?same deal with poisoning coyotes you kill peoples pets


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## nategyoder (Feb 17, 2010)

I hunt and agree with you. I see no problem with trapping when done in the manner you describe. I suppose the fear of the anti's is that someone will set a trap and not check it and starve the animal out which would be inhumane. The bad eggs in hunting and trapping give a bad image to our sports for all of us. We all need to be careful about the image we portray because hunters only make up 5% of the population (taken from the Indiana hunter safety course (seemed low to me)) and there are roughly 5% dead set against it. So it is the 90% in the middle that will decide our future in our sport. I took up deer hunting 4 years ago and love it. I am very proud I have taken 4 shots so far in the woods and had 4 successful kills. 2 bow, 1 12 guage, and 1 muzzle loader. The furthest trail was 40 yards. I know that twigs can be hit and misses and bad hits happen but I know not everyone works as hard as I do practicing with my weapons and waiting for clean kills and high percentage shots. I appreciate people such as yourself that worry about our image and work hard to be as humane as possible. I know that the anti's can't understand this but most of us hunters love the animals more than they do and spend far more dollars and hours bettering the habitat for the animals we truly care about.


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## spencerhenry (Feb 17, 2010)

could it be that the anti's are taking aim at the first of their objectives? trapping is far less common than hunting therefore easier to ban? or is it just all the hype associated with it by those that have never done it, seen it, or even know someone who traps? say something long enough and soon people think it is the truth regardless or where it started. 
i dabbled in trapping when i was a kid, hardly anything, but friends of mine trapped daily. they would check their traps (leghold) every morning before the school bus came. most times the animals, beavers, muskrat, mink, were dead when found. 
in colorado where i live the voters of the state were allowed to vote to make anything but live traps illegal on public property, the also outlawed spring bear hunting, and bear hunting with bait, and with dogs. anyone ever hear about the bear problems in aspen? the division of wildlife killed i think 17 bears last year. the bear population is tough to control when you eliminate the most successful way to hunt them.
i dont think trapping is any more cruel than life itself. how long does it take for a deer to die when the coyotes have ripped open is belly? or how about the fawn that is killed within minutes of birth? (i shot the coyote and now have a mounted mule deer fawn) how about starvation due to huge sudden snowfalls that trap animals at high elevation? bottom line is that everything dies, some at the hand of man, some by the jaws of a predator, some at the whim of mother nature, it is all cruel.


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## what-a-stihl (Feb 17, 2010)

*trapping*

All opinions are respected. I understand that trapping can be more dramatic to the sensitive anti's than hunting, but isn't a picture of a hunted animal and a picture of a trapped animal splitting hairs a bit. Since when does a person has to be ashamed of something he takes so much pride in? I do try to be respecful in my pictures as well and I don't force anyone to see them. If an anti clicks on a thread that reads "hunting pictures" and gets offended on what they see, than I don't give a damn about their feelings. Keep in mind that I am a hunter, but in a trappers defense I never wound and lose an animal from trapping, the same can't be said for most hunters. As far as respect for wildlife "TreeCo", I believe age has nothing to do with respect, be it nature or whatever, that was taught to me when I was young. Every year I clean the local rivers of garbage, I build wood duck houses, I've raised countless animals and released 'em, I raise over 100 pheasant a year at my own expense just to release them around my area. I prefer to give than take from nature, but there needs to be a balance


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## char (Feb 18, 2010)

There has been quite the back and forth in my local newspaper about some local dumbass trappers. There is a road which is heavily used by locals to walk their dogs off leash. 

Said dumbass trappers are giving all trappers a bad name by putting baited leg holds and snares within 50 ft of a road which has been used for dog walking for quite awhile. The lastest suggestion from the trappers is that either a) keep your dog on a leash or b) buy a $30 pair of side cutters so you can cut your dog loose when they end up in a snare. 

I'm not opposed to trapping, but holy crap, don't be idiots about putting your traps where people walk their dogs on a daily basis. Just asking for the state to clamp down.


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## what-a-stihl (Feb 18, 2010)

*trapping*

char, you are absolutly right, those men are idiots and give ethical trappers a bad name. Not once have I, or any trapper I know, ever caught someones pet in a trap. The first question I ask the landowner is if they have pets or not, and all my traps are in very rural areas for that reason. Like everything, you will always have your idiots.


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## char (Feb 18, 2010)

Their is an interesting dynamic regarding out-of-staters as well. As in, "you are from xyz state, go home, this is how it is here." Which is total crap. 

These guys have locals who have had no quarrel with trappers for years saying that we should go the way of neighboring states - no trapping. 

It's sad.


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## spencerhenry (Feb 19, 2010)

not sure where you live, but here it is illegal to let your dog run off a leash. sure it gives trappers a bad image, but are they supposed to modify their hobby because someone's dog is off leash and gets caught? it is classic, the dog is shot chasing wildlife, and the owner's response is always "MY dog doesnt chase wildlife". i shot a 140 pound dog a few years ago that was eating a deer carcass, it had no collar on it. it made the front page of the paper, a reward was issued, sheriff's department said they would look into it, letters to the editor for weeks, owners swear that this was the first time their dog had ever gotten out. this was in the middle of winter during a below zero cold snap that had been going for a week or more, right smack dab in the middle of deer and elk wintering range. if your precious pooch is that important to you, maybe you should keep track of it. once i got a pair of dogs, both big dogs, i shot them 8.5 road miles from their owners house, ranchers i talked to said they had been trying to get those dogs for some time, a friend said he saw them running elk in rifle elk season, again posters all over the valley, reward offered. what b.s. they were virtually feral dogs, they too were eating on a deer carcass that was about 1/2 mile off the road.


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## char (Feb 19, 2010)

I don't believe it is illegal for a dog to be off leash on public land here. 

There are several million acres of public land around here and these guys are setting trap lines right next to a road frequently used to walk dogs. Do the owners have a responsibility for their dogs? Absolutely. Are the trappers being idiots? Absolutely. 

No one would complain to much if their dog was way off the road and got stuck in a trap, but 50 ft? That is just part of the risk. 

These guys are giving all trappers a bad name, and it's really going to be a big deal when someones kid goes a little ways off the road and gets leg trapped.


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## spencerhenry (Feb 19, 2010)

a kid getting his leg caught? are you for real? do you have any idea how big traps are, or how they are set? in colorado, the setback from a public roadway for trapping is 50'. 
i see it time and time again, people who hunt, trap, or shoot are expected to modify their behavior to please people who don't. why don't the people that don't like those acts modify their behavior?


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## nategyoder (Feb 19, 2010)

spencerhenry said:


> a kid getting his leg caught? are you for real? do you have any idea how big traps are, or how they are set? in colorado, the setback from a public roadway for trapping is 50'.
> i see it time and time again, people who hunt, trap, or shoot are expected to modify their behavior to please people who don't. why don't the people that don't like those acts modify their behavior?



As a hunter I personally don't like your attitude. It is your "rub it in the anti's face" attitude that has the potential to destroy the sports we love. Please have some common courtesy. If there is that much land available give the dog walkers a little room. They have just as much right to public land as you do. And seeing as hunters make up only 5% of the population and trappers way less the dog walkers will win if you insist on your pissing match. Using the excuse that the law states you have to be 50' off the road so you are legal when placing your trap in everyone face is a good way to get the laws changed for everyone!


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## isaaccarlson (Feb 19, 2010)

*trapping is thought to be inhumane for the same reasons people think*

us mormons are a cult and don't believe in Jesus Christ and are a horrible people......because they have not experienced/been a part of it and do not know how it is.....they have a false image in their heads.


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## spencerhenry (Feb 19, 2010)

ok, first off, i am not one overtly putting my recreation is someone elses face. second, 5% of the population is hunters? i guess you are not aware of the numbers associated with hunting. colorado is known for its skiing, vail and aspen are both within one hour, and the state has more ski areas than any other state as far as i know, yet hunting brings in more revenue to the state per year than skiiing! 

i have been hunting some areas for over 20 years, that long because the areas are productive. am i now supposed to "find" another spot because now someone wants to cross country ski with their dog in my favorite hunting spot? not to mention that both cross country skiing and dogs leashed or not are not legal here? i try to get into the woods unseen by the antis, i dont flash carcasses around, i dont "rub in in their face", but I WILL NOT LET SOMEONE TELL ME THAT I CANT HUNT OR TRAP FULLY WITHIN THE LAW BECAUSE THEY ARE OFFENDED BY IT. you may be right that exercising my legal right to hunt can cause people to be offended and try to change the law, but maybe you should stand up for what you believe in instead of letting them change what you do. 
i dont know what kind of place everyone else lives in, but here in the mountains the amount of area that a person can get to in the winter is somewhat limited. every readily accessible chunk of public land with a trail on it is dog #### alley this time of year. some areas are open to everyone, some areas are closed to everyone, and some areas are closed to DOGS and crosscountry skiing. i scour my maps to find little forgotten access points, to make sure i am within the law, i shoot safely, i enter and exit my hunting areas as unobtrusively as possible. i turn in every poacher i see, i volunteer for the division of wildlife keeping the ONLY local shooting range clean and safe. the people that moved in next door to the range (open since the 70's) now want it closed, should the range shut down because they dont like it? B.S. the range was there (hunting) long before they moved in, maybe they should read the disclosure statements that they signed when they bought a condo a half mile from the range.

if you dont like my attitude... piss off.


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## char (Feb 19, 2010)

Sounds like you are a responsible hunter, so am I. I don't really care about trapping. Go trap, who cares. You enjoy it, great. 

I'm just making the observation that these guys are publicly picking a battle with people over trapping within 50' of a road that is heavily used by people for walking their dogs near a town and are practically begging to have the law changed. And it's going to be the people that have historically supported their right to trap that are going to be the ones to take it away. 

And they are going to use the fact trappers are catching dogs to their advantage. 

It's just a stupid situation is all.


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## char (Feb 19, 2010)

spencerhenry said:


> a kid getting his leg caught? are you for real? do you have any idea how big traps are, or how they are set? in colorado, the setback from a public roadway for trapping is 50'.
> i see it time and time again, people who hunt, trap, or shoot are expected to modify their behavior to please people who don't. why don't the people that don't like those acts modify their behavior?



I'm slightly familiar, but have never participated myself. Sorry if I offended, I'm merely echoing things I'm reading in the editorial section. I just imagine if a coyote can get caught a clueless kid as well. Correct me if I'm wrong.


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## what-a-stihl (Feb 21, 2010)

People may have had their dogs caught in said trapper's traps and the trapper may have been there first. I believe it takes an effort on both sides to resolve the issue. For someone to just flip out and blame the trappers, edit write-ups in the paper, curse trapping and those who do it, only breeds tension between the two. Same said for the trappers who want to curse those who walk their dogs there, and say I have a right to be here, ok maybe you have a legal right to trap there but why make the rest of us look bad by battling with these people, it's all about being diplomatic for the sake of sportsman. As far as a child getting caught in a trap, I think it's highly unlikely.


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## Coyote150 (Feb 25, 2010)

Hi all, I'm new here but thought I'd throw my two cents in. I am a trapper, hunter, fisherman, wood cutter, and whatever else gets me outdoors.
First, I have never heard of a child being caught in a trap. This, as I understand it, was Char echoing what is being said by "the dog walkers", wasn't Char speaking. These traps are probably 6.5" across. It would take a very small child (1-3yrs?) to be "caught" in one of these traps. At that they my snap the trap. It my catch they're shoe briefly at best and then pull off (the trap I mean), still very unlikely. These are not the bear traps with big pointy teeth you've seen in the movies, with some guy in it up to his shin(movie stuff). As mentioned, it takes effort on both sides, mainly education. Unfortunately, I've found most trappers more willing to educate than others willing to listen.


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## Kydan (Mar 1, 2010)

A child getting caught in a trap ? hmmm.The odds hitting the powerball are 1 in 195,249,054 and seeking people do hit. I have yet to hear of a human getting in caught in a trappers set, and if it ever happens, my bets' on a careless parent setting a trap in their yard.


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