| Article: Trapping as a Management Tool article Author: John Coit |
I will do my level best to help you understand respectfully and thrououghly the importance trapping can play in the management needs we have on many of our lands.
I'd like to start out first telling you something about my own trapping history and how I became knowledgable and active as a trapper and why I continue to do so.
As a hunting lodge manager and guide I was faced with many issues concerning taking care of a 3400 acre continuous tract of land in Lee County SC. The land bordered Lynches River and is a part of a long uninterrupted river bottom habitat that hold lots of game and attention to outdoorsman. Our popular game species would include whitetail deer, wild turkey, squirrel, rabbit, bobwhite quail, several types of waterfowl some resident and some migratory, woodcock, and mourning dove. With the exception of whitetail deer each and every one of these species is very susceptible to the majority of the animals trappers target. Even the whitetail deer is subject to predation at birth by coyotes but at this time deer numbers are strong enough natural predation on them really doesnt justify an all out war with traps, however maintaining proper predator levels is paramount to keeping this the case.
On this particular land tract the predatory species included
Egg predators: possum, raccoon, otter, grey fox, red fox, coyote
Game predators: otter, grey fox, red fox, coyote, bobcat, birds of prey
Non natives: Feral cats and dogs also play a huge role in predation of both egg and game species. In fact the feral cat is truely a problem and you would be appalled to know just how many cats are out there everynight hunting your game with no home to go to. They are super successful predators and breeding and multiplying in the woods far from domestication nearly everywhere we go. While wild dogs aren't an issue here roaming domestic dogs are common and despite what pet owners want to believe old rover hunts when hes hungry and many of these folks arent curbing fido's appetite enough.
That covers our predators now lets talk about another common trappers target, the beaver.
There is a concern for timber here as timber farming plays a huge role in the financial value of land. Today it is not uncommon to see land owners send the farmer packing and to plant agricultural areas that have been farmed for a couple centuries entirely in planted pine. It is simply a sounder investment with less headache and produces a huge yeild in profit per acre in comparison to classic farming use. The landscape of the south is changing in fact in the low country of South Carolina the agricultural field is in my opinion an endangered species itself.This trend is sweeping quickly accross the entire south. The impact can be very substantial on a lands ability to hold and attract game but fortunately most of the major timber companies have really stepped up their own conservation and land management practices to meet the needs and keep the rotations of these tracts in such a way to promote better habitat and overall enviromental health.
The beaver puts all that at risk, as pines will not live long in standing water and with the fur market in North America destroyed for the most part and the profit gone from fur bearer trapping beaver numbers have soared. For example in 1875 the staes of New York and Massachussetts had an estimated population of less than 5000 beavers.Through 1973 the population made little recovery and stayed well below the intended level. This was a result of the old days of trapping a huge commerical interest that nearly wiped em out all together. It was the reason trappers went west and eventually took to buffalo hunting and that commercial interest nearly wiped them out as well.
What happened in the mid 70's that changed the long time slow trend of beaver population recovery???? Simple animal right activists began applying so much pressure to the fur industry and the public that the fur market crashed and sent fur values to the basement. As most trappers were in it for the profit trapping interest subsided and with it trapping pressure. In less than 20 years after nearly a century of a slow trend of recovery, beaver numbers soared to over 120,000.
Heres an intersting fact on beaver. if you start with 2 adults and suffer no losses due to trapping natural die off , predation or disease in ten years you will have 618 beavers that directly result from the intial 2.
Back to how this affected me and my history and introduction to trapping. We had a beaver problem and timber to protect as well as a large hunting area that was subject to flooding if the beaver dams were not kept in check. My first chore as a trapper was to assist a long time timber beaver control trapper in bringing the numbers down on the property so we could keep up with the amount of trees being damaged both by their teeth and their flooding. In a few areas it was an all out war that continues on that property to this day. With an adjacent river to act as a highway and untrapped populations up and down the river the problem will never be solved espescially considering the beavers ability to quickly replace its numbers.
This introduction was presented to me and accepted wholey by me at that time as a land management tool. My personal financial interests other than my paycheck I recieved for taking care of the lands needs had nothing to do with trapping . It was simply part of my job and during that time I began my own realization of how important of a tool trapping is to furbearer control. I have since learned several things about trapping and where it is commonly used to control populations not only for species protection but human needs and profit.
Take the nations national refuges and the endangered species that often survive there in a delicate balance. Species such as the sea turtle whos future is far from certain suffer huge nest losses to unchecked raccoon populations. The whooping crane suffers losses from several predatory species like coyotes and red foxes, the list goes on and on including endangered/threatened species in every form of life from plant to mammal. In most every case the nations leading land managers and conservationists suggest an old solution as it truely is the only solution...trapping. Heres the bonus....and you dont find this in goverment often, regulated trapping can accomplish this at not only ZERO cost to the public but produce dividends in liscense sales and recreational taxes on equipment.
Back to my induction to the trappers world. Our land had several issues that were direct results of a long time lack of trapping presence. Most noteably gamebird populations. While we as a hunting lodge focussed our decisions mainly around game there is no doubt other species not hunted by us were being affected by the same unchecked populations. Possums abound and on the first trap check they started showing up, and showing up, and showing up. Coons as well were not uncommon. Morning after morning, coons and possums but not so many "predators" . I remember thinking to myself just how many possums and coons can be out here? The answer was a truckload or two and in the following two seasons it was obvious that not only was there an overabundance, but the fact started to sink in that each one we caught ate every turkey quail or songbird egg it found! Not only that there were so many we simply had to trap out the "trash" so to speak before we even got down to catching the true predators like bobcat fox and coyote.
Little side bar here on birds of prey. As most all of us are familiar with the use of ddt and other insecticides severely put a hurting on birds of prey. many of them were worn down into situations where they were endangered. Strict laws were implemented and in this case they were and continue to be blanket regs. Theres a problem with this, birds of prey eat gamebirds and currently they have unfair reign on the reduced numbers. Sit on a field edge known to hold quail regularly and look at the tree tops on any given day and you will see many representatives of birds of prey. In the very near future something is going to have to change there IMO.
Before I go on ahead, let me pass on yet some more fact about trapping seasons, limits, and how these are set. Much like the quail or a school of fish that produces more than the population needs to sustain itself predators birth more young than needed. Typically these surplus animals are subject to expected die off from disease, their own predation, and in the modern world road mortality. Wildlife biologists and the governing agencies that set these trapping seasons and limits base their decisions toward trapping these surplus animals when they are present in the annual population. In effect this insures that trapping in itself will never again threaten the populations of these animals such as was the case in past centuries where mans incessent greed threatened and nearly wiped out these populations.
So our trapping season is based around the time of the year when the surplus is present in the predator populations. While this surplus is around they are putting yet even more undue stress on depleted gambird and small game populations.Without trapping they in effect are taking more than their fair share and continuing the unbalance, over time this will lead to the eventual demise of these populations and come back to haunt the very cause of the initial loss in disease and starvation for the predators. With traps not only can the surplus that available be taken out with no real effect on the populations future, but additionaly it lessens the amount of time this surplus population has to damage restoring populations of predated species.
So I trap!
Trap types get broken down into five major catagories these days. Live traps, foot hold traps and body gripping traps, snares, and cuff style species specific traps. Each serves its own purpose well for certain species and in most every cases regulations reflect their advantage as a management tool and their humane catching style very well. Some are meant as the name implies to simply detain the animal in a cage alive, some simply hold the animal by the foot, and others kill the animal immediately.
Live traps. These are very commonly used by ADC trappers and homeowners trapping around populated areas where non target animals and popular opinion is an issue. While mans never ending encroahment continues and furbearer /man confrontations continue to rise, steadily popular opinion begins to shift in many areas about wanting these animals around, but very few have the ability to forego their emotional attachments and do the job. Off the top of my head I can site coyotes in suburban California who raid garbage cans boldly every day of the year, and mountain lions that not only kill pets but hikers and bikers in surburbia as well.
These animals not only create issues with plain nuscience, but they dont mind eating the domestic kitty or dog either. Trappers, while not always under regulations to do so typically will choose a less effective trap overall to catch these animals and calm the scoffing that goes on about trapping by the very same individuals.By using these live traps non target animals can be released unharmed and target animals get taken out without "dirty hands" or the complaintant having to do the job themselves.
Foot traps: Foot traps are very very effective in catching everything from k-9's to ermine aka weasle. They are set in a variety of sets from blind sets designed simply to catch and animal passing by to dirthole sets that are baited to attract attention. In most cases the trap jaw spread is picked carefully to catch the animal above the foot past the joint on large bone to give a solid hold and to bind when it gets to the joint which in effect adds to the holding power. Jaw styles vary highly on foot traps to accomplish this leg hold an how strongly or tight it fits. Off set jaws, rubber jaws, laminated jaws, square jaws all serve different levels of holding power and FOOT PROTECTION. Believe it or not trappers take a super amount of time and effort to find and use designs that limit damage to the feet espescially in our case where we are trapping the animals for a release in a fox pen or where domestics might be prevalent.
For the record the old days and cartoon images of toothy trap jaws and wicked woundings are gone. I can think of nowhere they are legal traps.
Body Grip traps: Most commonly they are called coni bear traps and the consist of two pieces of square wire that cycle around 180 degrees when tripped and close on the animals body typically around the upper third. This very strong trap typically kills very quickly and is a fine substitue for water trapping as it eliminates the need to stake out drowning cables to kill the animal after the catch. Foot traps also get used and are super effective but require a much more intensive trap set up, specific trap placement, and again drowning rigs. In many states these type traps are ILLEGAL on land as they do kill and theres no release of non target species from them alive.
Snares: Snares are not legal everywhere as on land they again can catch just about anything and in most cases are set to catch and kill. While snare size and thoughtfull placement can avoid many possible non target catches regulators help curb public distate in several states by not allowing them to be legal. From a kindness standpoiint in remote areas they not only function better on long lines by reducing weight, but they can be set to kill eliminating long waits between trap checks. Example Alaska where traplines can run hundreds of miles and take several days to run.
Cuff type traps: These traps are mainly used for raccoon and designed to keep domestics and non target species out of them. They key in on a raccons incredible dexterity they have in their hands and simply close so they cant get their hand back out. They are not only virtually painless for the coon , they absolutely protect non target animals.
Theres several other trap types out there as well , colony traps for muskrat, mole traps and so on and in each case they have long long histories of improvement and species specific use. Trappers have alwasy been dilligent about "building a better mousetrap" and continue to do so every year.
I will end this first attempt at helping you to understand more about traps and trapping by saying, if it was unusually cruel I wouldnt do it! I have seen the line and what happens out there and I take many precautions everytime I set a trap to do my best to make it as humane as possible. Despite that there are times where things dont go as planned as in every form of hunting. There are and have been slob trappers no different than slob hunters, but for the most part the trappers I have met hold a higher knowledge and respect for the woodlands than any other group of sportsman I have met.
If youd like to read and learn more on it there are many national trapping organizations today and they all address most every issue thouroughly and back it with well reserached facts and statistics. I highly reccomend contacting the US Fish and Wildlife Service and requesting a copy of Trapping and Fur Bearer Management in North American Wildlife Conservation. It has a wealth of facts and history that will enlighten anyone with questions about trapping.
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