The death of trapping?
Small Game
Hate to go with the click bait title, but I was certain people would be talking about it and haven’t heard anything here. With the death of NAFA (North American Fur Auction) what will happen to trapping? Coyotes? Beaver numbers? Where will this go?
I hadn't heard about this. What happened?
Did some googling. Seems it was the ranched mink industry that caused most of their trouble. There is another auction house ready to handle wild fur.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/fur-auction-mink-1.5347595
I heard about NAFA going under this past week. I’m guessing Fur Harvesters will pick up the slack until the the bunny huggers push them over the edge too.
I'm pretty well versed on what exactly happened to nafa and it was their own fault and easily predictable
They were already bought out and ranch fur will still be run through it but wild fur wont.
There is plenty of other options and most are better than nafa. You can still ship through fur harvesters and there are plenty of very large buyers that you can send finished goods to and get a quote. if you dont like the price they will ship it back on their dime
Jeff,
a good friend is making a serious run at teapping 1,000 coyotes this year. He started out last month literally on the Canadian border in ND and will wrap it up in a few months on the Mexican border in texas.
Tge weather isn't his friend so far
The beautiful thing about human arrogance that causes ignorance is, the hard times they cause is a learning lesson for following generations
Trapping might indeed die by legislation. But, numbskulls that vote to end it, aren’t usually the people you run into outdoors.
History has shown humans do what’s best for humans. And, eventually, they’ll start killing wolves on sight, by poison, etc... no matter what the law says. Same with nuisance animals of other species.
sadly trapping is a dead activity walking. A legacy being lost.
When we voted on it here in Colorado it was destroyed in a landslide.
Selective Science is a killer. The same people who want policy based on climate science want to ignore wildlife management science when it upsets them. They think hunting and trapping should be illegal because they’re uncomfortable with it , but stuff that makes other people uncomfortable, well, those narrow-minded types should just get over themselves, eh?
Plenty of hypocrisy to go around.
My traps are setting in totes in my garage. Too many people here in Oregon take their pets everywhere and I developed this fear of hooking up someone’s dog while they were out on a hike. No one keeps their pets on leash here.
It’ll probably be long gone in 20 years. 6 minutes till midnight here in Ohio. I’m walking out the door now to set some steel. Season opens at midnight. I’ll be back in a tree at daylight.
There's not a good reason to keep your dogs on a leash in the woods. Have you ever put a Labrador on a leash in the woods? It's not a pleasant walk.
If you want to trap, you need to trap where people don't walk. It's always been that way.
Even up where I live in Northern Alaska where trapping is a way of life and everyone wears trapped fur, one of our remote villages, Point Hope, a whaling village (far from the liberal utopia or urban area as you can get), someone was trapping just on the outside of town and a couple dogs got trapped and killed. The guy was eviscerated on Facebook and is now a pariah to many people in town.
If you want to trap, you have to get off the beaten path. If you get off the beaten path and you catch someone's dog, well, then they were letting it run loose and that sucks but it's understandable.
Getting off the beaten path helps. But, dogs revert back to ancestor behavior when left free discipline. It’s in their blood and, that’s what they do when they can pack up and roam. Probably not a big deal in Alaska due to the dogs knowing better then to roam. Huge deal here in the lower 48.
If you are running lines anywhere but the remotest area, you are going to catch domestic dogs. If you front leg them, get them out and let them limp away. They’ll survive fine enough once that foot gets some feeling back. Just watch the snares. But, trap nonetheless.
This has been a trend for many years, and will continue. In most states trapping is pretty much enjoyed today by hobbyists, many on private land. The country buyers have declined, squeezed out by the large corps. The future is certain to get tougher, but still time to string some steel. I ran hundreds and hundreds of traps annually for many years, just a couple of dozen today. Not for income.
3/4’s of the kids you knew growing up trapped. How many kids can you think of now that trap? Fur harvesters will pick up a lot of the business from NAFA. We’re in a long stretch of low prices now and that doesn’t recruit new people. Also hobby trappers aren’t wasting their time. If relationships and tariffs with Russia and China ever improve we will see better prices. I don’t see a bright future. We don’t have the numbers or funds to defend at the ballot box.
I did my last serious trapping about 5 years ago. I caught 65 beavers and 9 otters within a few miles of my house. The state used to give me permits to catch problem beavers. I don't do any trapping now except for groundhogs in my garden and an occasional beaver for the table. Beavers are great for eating and are as big as some of the deer people shoot during deer season. I had a friend that I used to catch a beaver from time to time for him. He had a big tub and he soaked the beaver in for a day with some kind of seasoning. He would have a beaver dinner and even the women thought it was delicious. He passed away last year so his recipe is gone forever. I also used to catch loads of raccoons.
Lex I bet the beavers are glad you retired from trapping!!
I trap red fox, Beaver and raccoon in North Dakota. I tan the pelts myself and make headbands, hats and scarves and sell them. There is quite the interest in locally made fur garments, at least around here. The bonus is both beaver and raccoon are very good eating.
Don't blame the activists and liberals. They're harmless. Blame political correctness and always laying down on the tracks by "taking the high road". They want to sling some mud, sling some right back...
Hde. Never underestimate the power of a group of stupid people. This is a fight we’ll never win. Sportsman can’t unite to agree on anything let alone stand behind a activity they don’t participate in. There is a lot more money involved in gun and bird hunting so they’ll be the last to go. Trapping is first and easiest to defeat. Hell who would of thought you wouldn’t be able to set a foothold trap in Colorado today? It’s coming to a state you know soon enough. I guess complaining about it will never do nothing. I’m going coon hunting. Good luck all.
Many bird hunters are been against trapping. There is a conflict one can understand, at least on public ground. Should not be a factor on private land.
Wv hillbilly - it's a fight we will never win because we allow it. Sometimes you just need to go toe to toe bareknuckle...
And as far as sportsmen not being able to unite on a common front? Very correct. Just look at the bickering that happens on Bowsite from differing opinions about stupid and trivial stuff.
I do all my trapping on public land and pets are my worst nightmare. There is a place right up the road a few miles that I trap beaver and mink in the creek and I know I could catch fox and coyote but everybody and there brother walks their dog there so that would be stupid. I don't want to be the guy on the front page of the Sunday paper. So instead, I predator call in the mornings when I check my traps before anybody else gets there so I can control the situation. You gotta be smart about it.
Theres a lake by my cabin with a hiking trail along the shoreline. An adjacent property owner didnt like that beavers were chewing some of his trees, so he bought some (illegal in CO) leghold traps and chained them to his trees along the hiking trail. Yeah, I know. Anyway, the first family with a dog that came hiking along...you know the rest.
Bad publicity ensued. Guy tried to deny the traps were his, except they were only along his property. He was no "trapper" but this crap gives legal trappers a real black eye, just like poaching the beloved town elk does to hunters.
“The bonus is both beaver and raccoon are very good eating.“
That’s the first time I’ve heard that about raccoons, but I suppose there are coons that feed on crops and coins that feed on frogs, worms and garbage cans.
I've trapped my entire life, sometimes for fun and sometimes for money.
I've had some of the best times of my life on a trapline and credit my early success trapping with helping me find a lot of success hunting.
I'll post some pics up when I get a chance.
These days I trap every single day for work. I own a wildlife and pest control company and we also contract with a couple cities to run their animal control departments. michael
I will continue to trap coyote and bobcat regardless of the market just to help control the numbers. But I started tanning my own hides a few years back and give alot away to friends and family
I'm going into my 4th year trapping. I don't do it for the money, I do it for my mental health. It keeps me moving and occupied during the winter months. No more "happy pills" for this guy!!!
I target coyotes and if I draw a tag, I will set for fisher and otter. I'm not a coon or water guy. Last year, I got 49 coyotes. My goal is to hit 50 someday!!!
Had 1,292 pics of a big group of striped skunks last night. They were in front of the camera roughly 7 hours!
Had a cool colored one with some unique white patterning.
I was central Nebraska las week bowhunting mulies and ran into a cool coyote trapper, he had 2 in the trk and was just getting started. We discussed the death of trapping. He said the yotes are the only thing he traps and barely makes enough to cover expenses but loves to do it...man i remember trapping muskrats as a kid,,walking 2 miles in the dark, before catching the bus.. hell most kids i know now can't even get there ass to the bus....i miss trapping and muskrats would fetch between 10/14 bucks.. i was rich!!! Thought id trap for a living... lol
First beavers of the season. Finally getting cool enough to start setting traps.
Caught 3 today.
Gonna use this one to set some foot traps for coyotes.
Put out a dozen snares Friday after work. Got the first yote of the year today.
Tough here I live in town and to trap far enough away from hikers and bikers and skiers, I have to travel a good distance, which makes it difficult to check traps every 48 hours and work full time.
oz
Nothing dead about trapping here except a few yotes and coons. Got another in a snare this evening and one in the only foothold I set on Friday. I’m still deer hunting so I won’t get serious until the beginning of December.
One looks like a doodlerac
Trapped this packer fan for work yesterday
