Trappers are Conservationists

Trappers are the real conservationists,
and they have a right to spell it on the wall.

by
Reed Gauthier

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The time is right for trappers to position themselves as conservationists for the work they do and to clarify misunderstood scientific concepts that have allowed animal rights groups to cash in on senseless emotionalism and sensationalism while the work of the trapper has been often enumerated to one of nuisance trapping. I am an optimist by nature, but if you think the price of education is expensive in this country, try ignorance. Trappers need to carry the title of the job they do and what it means to be real stewards of the forest. That is why the Alberta Trapper’s Association should change its name to the Alberta Wild Fur Conservation Association.

Trapping is a conservation issue, it is an emotional issue, it is about a caring issue: it is about a scientific management issue. It is not about what some people think they want to do or not do. Let me give you some insight as seen through the eyes of a trapper conservationist. The real conservationist is the one who has the job of making sense of the senseless.

What the animal right groups don’t say is that the trapping industry is a huge economic opportunity for them, to market themselves and to gather millions of dollars in donation while portraying the trapper as a senseless killer. This is a critical challenge facing us all: trappers, hunters, fishermen, and farmers. There is a shift in public opinion over the past few years that go against occupations that involve the use of animals, and the use of fur has been a nice and easy target for animal activists.

The nature of this battle between animal rights activists and wild fur managers has truly taken a sophisticated twist. These activists have tried very hard to camouflage their credibility and have moved to where we are most vulnerable. Firstly, our name that says what activity we need to do to be trapper. And secondly, the collective consciousness of our consumers, which we need to make trapping sustainable and predictable. To call ourselves trappers in this day and age is not the most important issue at hand. The issue is the fact that we trappers do all the conservation work, while the animal activists gather the donations in the millions of dollars. Tell me who is the real animal caregiver? I only know of trappers who work in the forest to make it a better place for the animals.

Balancing conservation and responsible wildlife management is not done by animal rights people. Nature has a way of brutalizing itself with overpopulation, starvation and disease and who looks after that? When I trap a healthy beaver or any other species I feel good that I have provided the space and habitat for another healthy animal to replace it. Like every human, animals need plenty of space and food. As a wild fur trapper I am first and foremost a conservationist. I am there for the long-term added value of my trap-line production. Starvation, disease and territorial killings are forces that brutalize wildlife like hurricanes, tornadoes, draught, torrential rain, wars, and terrorist attacks do to humanity.

Yet, who gets the rewards of the conservation we do? Animal lovers give without knowing the facts about wildlife preservation and conservation. We trappers are conservationists and our association should – by all means – spell it out for us. PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – says what their mission is, but it’s the real trappers that do the sensible thing. Animal activists are animal lovers that believe in stockpiling wildlife. Stockpiling wildlife is the most brutalizing force in nature. This is where you have animals locked up in eco systems that will not support their numbers. Animal activists are not here to make the forest a better place for animals, they are there for the easy money that senseless emotionalism will get them.

The overall mission of our association is to promote the sustainable and predictable wise use of Canada’s wild fur resources. It is important that our efforts continue to grow in the areas of education and communication to build support for trapping industry and what it means to wildlife. Another important objective is to improve the image of the trappers as conservationists.

We have known from the beginning that no one individual or organization could do it alone. It takes all of us working together – trappers, fishermen, hunters, and farmers – to win this confrontation.

It is we, the trapper conservationists, which have the responsibility of making sense of the senseless. Conservation and the trapping activity is a caring issue. It is not a laisser-faire attitude. A stockpiling philosophy advocated by our supposedly caring animal rights activists leaves the animal world brutalizing itself. Trappers, as we call ourselves, do all the work and the caring, yet we are the perfect easy targets.

The hour of recognitions has arrived and this confrontation needs to be clarified as to who does what. Trapping is a tool, that is how we have made Alberta a rat free province for our animal rights lovers and urban dwellers that do not want to understand that animal management is as important as family planning. However, those who call themselves trappers do the real animal caring. This action to many rings a note of dislike, like abortions do with humans. Therefore, I move that we trappers clarify our position with the animal rights people and change our names to the Alberta Wild Fur Conservation Association. In this matter we could be recognized for the caring that we do and not be a sitting target for those who claim they are caregivers when in fact they are but takers of money in disguise.

While the nature of this confrontation has move up a couple of notches, trapping is still the best tool, used by conservationists to minimize nature’s brutality. The real caregiver is the trapper conservationist who works so hard, but animal activists have alleviated the recognition. It is now time to position ourselves and put the writing on the wall; we need to say who we are and what we stand for. We are “The Alberta Wild Fur Conservation Association”! If we are going to be an easy target, at least lets do first things first and make ourselves into a more deserving moving target. Furthermore, it is imperative that we leave to the next generation of trappers the best of what we had and what we believe, and through good practices make wildlife a sustainable and predictable resource for all Albertans to enjoy. Thanks for caring!