Pennsylvania outdoor writer Ron Tussel recently authored a great article on trapping in the state. Trapping has had some bad press in the past, spurred and funded mostly by anti-fur and animal rights groups. Trapping, in fact, is highly regulated and foot-hold traps must not surpass a jaw width of 6.5 inches in Pennsylvania. Foot-hold traps are designed to restrain an … [Read more...]
Archives for 2011
ATA Sponsors Fur Handling Clinic
The Alaska Trappers Association recently sponsored a fur handling clinic for trappers in the Fairbanks, AK region. The clinic was aimed at providing valuable information trappers need to properly skin, flesh, stretch and dry pelts that they capture during the trapping season. The all-day clinic was designed to teach trappers how to handle fur from the time it is taken from a … [Read more...]
Efforts Continue to Limit Trapping in New Mexico
Trapping continues to be a controversial topic in New Mexico. This past summer, we reported on a move by the New Mexico State Game Commission to follow the recommendations of the New Mexico Game and Fish Department to overturn a ban on trapping in New Mexico's Wolf Recovery Area. The ban was put in place by former Gov. Bill Richardson in an attempt to protect recovering gray … [Read more...]
Trapping Magazines: A Review
Like much of the outdoor sporting world, trapping has its fair share of trade publications. A large percentage of trappers subscribe to trapping magazines to keep up with the latest news, techniques and equipment. Like most trappers, I wish I had enough money to subscribe to all of the trapping magazines, but I can’t, and you probably can’t either. So I’d like to help by … [Read more...]
Feds Moving to Delist Wolves in Wyoming
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is moving closer to delisting the gray wolf in Wyoming as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Wolf populations have expanded significantly in recent years, and wolves have been removed from the ESA list in neighboring Montana and Idaho. Under an agreement reached in August by Fish and Wildlife officials and Gov. Matt Mead, the … [Read more...]
Feds Cut Animal Damage Control Programs
UPDATE: Looks like the feds will find some money for the program after all. Read the story here. Shortfalls in the federal budget will likely have an impact on animal damage control programs throughout the United States. According to an article in Minnesota's Duluth News Tribune, the USDA Wildlife Services program that hired government trappers to capture and remove … [Read more...]
Some Interesting Tales From Canadian Trappers
Philip Rushton of the Whitecourt Star recently interviewed a couple of old timer Canadian trappers who had some interesting tales to tell. Click here to read the full story. … [Read more...]
New Zealand School Program Promotes Possum Trapping
Project Possum, a new program offered by a collaboration of New Zealand groups, is promoting possum trapping as a career path for area students. The program would teach trapping methods and fur preparation and marketing of possum pelts. Susan Karels, the council's regional Enviroschools co-ordinator, says the training stems from twin desires to offer participants the chance … [Read more...]