Jenny Carter vividly remembers the autumn day. She was out walking on a neighbor’s property with her dog, Foxy, when “I heard this snap and a yip and looked to see what happened,” she said. “And there was my dog, caught in a leg-hold trap.”
The long-haired mixed-breed pup whimpered. Carter had to decide whether to run home for help or attempt to free the dog from a trap she had no idea how to operate. The trap, secured to the ground with a chain and a spike, had powerful springs that clamped smooth jaws on Foxy’s leg.
It’s a situation no pet should be in, Carter said, adding that Vermont could do more to prevent similar scenarios. In anticipation of trapping season, which starts Saturday, animal-rights advocates are asking for changes. They want the legislature to require trappers to report when they accidentally catch pets or endangered species, and post signs where traps are set on public land.
“One of the reasons I don’t believe in trapping is because it’s so indiscriminate. I have personal experience that backs that up,” said Carter, a lawyer who lives in Randolph Center and volunteers with Protect Our Wildlife, the Stowe-based organization behind the drive. “There needs to be data collected so the state can make an informed decision about when and where trapping should be allowed.”
POW’s proposals aren’t going over well among trappers. Some of them view the calls for restrictions as an attack from people who don’t understand the deep roots of trapping culture in Vermont. “They want to take away our traps. They want to take away our heritage. They want to take away what we do,” said Bruce Baroffio, a Northfield auto mechanic and lifelong trapper.
He’s president of the Vermont Trappers Association and believes that pet owners, not trappers, need to be more careful. For one, they should keep their dogs leashed, he said. Further, Baroffio added, illegal trappers are more likely than licensed ones to ensnare someone’s pet. Critics don’t distinguish between the two, he said: “All of us are made out to be evil, pet-murdering, Neanderthal thugs.”
Earlier this year, POW partnered with the Center for Biological Diversity, a national group that seeks to protect endangered wildlife, to determine the extent of the problem. They made a public-records request to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The groups asked for emails employees exchanged with police, trappers and pet owners that mention traps capturing pets.
They also asked for emails related to the trapping of endangered species such as the American marten, a small weasel with round ears and a bushy tail. It’s illegal to deliberately trap marten, and Vermont is working to reintroduce the species in the state. But current law doesn’t obligate trappers who trap one accidentally to report the mistake to Fish & Wildlife.
POW received several boxes of printed emails and converted the data into spreadsheet form. They found references to 35 cases of trapped pets between 2009 and 2014, seven of which were fatal. POW also tallied 32 American marten trapped during the same period, 28 of which died.
“I think it’s called a waste of resources and counterproductive if we have a species that’s endangered, and we’re allowing an activity that’s harming them,” said Mollie Matteson, a Richmond-based senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “There needs to at least be some significant effort to minimize that harm.”
Fish & Wildlife commissioner Louis Porter said the POW numbers might include some double counting or misclassification. Some of the cases also appear to be neighbor disputes, Porter said.
The department’s own tally shows 27 domestic animals caught in traps over the same 2009-2014 period. Most were dogs, and all but four survived. By the department’s count, 22 American marten were accidentally trapped.
Brenna Galdenzi, executive director of POW, questioned whether either set of numbers accurately reflects the extent of the problem. Since reporting is not required, she said, “We really have no idea just how bad it is out in the field.”
Porter doesn’t see the need for better data collection or the mandatory reporting POW is proposing. That would take resources away from enforcement and other duties, he suggested. Signs would be cumbersome and ineffective. The department vigorously pursues and prosecutes illegal trappers, Porter added.
Trapping is not “indiscriminate,” he said. The tension of the springs, bait type and location of the trap all assist in targeting specific animals. “Trapping is not only an important tradition in Vermont and elsewhere, it’s a very, very important way for us to manage and regulate wildlife populations,” he said.
Galdenzi gave up a career in corporate finance five years ago to move from suburban Hartford, Conn., to Stowe. A vegetarian who is active in the animal-rescue movement, she said, “Back in high school, I was the one wearing ‘No fur’ pins on my jean jacket.”
She learned more about trapping through Vermont nonprofits — and started lobbying the legislature. Galdenzi worked to kill a proposal to allow snare traps that died last year in committee.
She launched POW this year to document trapping troubles and to lobby for changes. “I don’t think we’re ever going to see a day where trapping is going to be banned in Vermont,” she said. “I like to have realistic goals.”
Humans have long trapped animals for food and used their fur to stay warm. Native people traded pelts and fashioned them into clothing. Early North American settlers and explorers made fortunes trapping beaver, mink, fox, lynx and other fur-bearing animals.
Vermont trappers still sell pelts. About 900 people are licensed to trap, and state law allows them to take coyote, fox, mink, muskrat, raccoon, beaver, weasel, opossum, bobcat, skunk and other creatures. Each licensee must obtain permission from landowners to set traps, which must be tagged with his or her name and address. Property owners do not need state permission to trap on their own land, but toothed foothold traps and snares are illegal in Vermont.
Nearly 4,000 fur-bearing animals were trapped during the 2013-2014 season, according to the most recent Fish & Wildlife data. Most of those were muskrats (1,989), followed by beaver (487), raccoon (349), mink (271) and coyotes (249).
Annual harvests vary depending on pelt prices and other factors. During the past 10 years, the largest harvest was 10,441 animals, in 2006-2007.
China and Russia are among the biggest buyers of North American fur, but when their economies are weak — as they are now — prices sag. Trappers such as Baroffio watch the global market carefully. When prices are high, he might get 20 percent of his annual income from selling pelts. Many Vermont trappers participate in two annual auctions, one of which is December 12 at Whitcomb High School in Bethel.
“My dad trapped, and his dad trapped. It’s one of those things,” Baroffio said. “It’s part of growing up here in Vermont, those of us who grew up here in Vermont and didn’t move here from Connecticut.”
Baroffio said out-of-staters and city people are behind most of the opposition to trapping, hunting and gun rights in Vermont. The “antis,” as he calls them, just don’t understand a culture they weren’t reared in.
Baroffio insists that trappers are respectful of their quarry. Licensing rules require trappers to check their sets every 24 hours, in most cases. Often, an animal caught in a modern leg-hold trap is found curled up asleep, whether it’s a dog or a coyote, he said.
If it’s a coyote or another intended catch, Baroffio said, he shoots the animal in the head to dispatch it humanely. If it’s a dog, he frees it, and more often than not the animal is just fine, he insisted. “I had my own dogs caught in traps; I’ve caught lots of dogs in traps and let them go unharmed,” he said. “I have never had a dog caught in a trap be injured. And I’ve been doing this since 1973. You just pat them on the head and off they scamper.”
POW acknowledged that some dogs do survive the ordeal. But the “summary statement” on its spreadsheet described other outcomes: when dogs were killed in illegal snares, died in traps that hadn’t been checked in a timely fashion, were shot by trappers who couldn’t get the frantic animals out, or had to be euthanized because a limb was so badly damaged.
Baroffio acknowledged that some trappers break the law. “There are stupid people out there in all walks of life,” he said. “They seem to vote and breed like rabbits, but there’s not much we can do about it.”
He added that some proposed changes, such as requiring trappers to put up signs, make no sense. “Dogs can’t read,” he deadpanned. But thieves can. “Why don’t you just put a sign up that says ‘come steal here.’ Traps are valuable,” he said.
It’s been four years since Carter’s ordeal, but she can still recall every detail.
Worried Foxy would panic and injure itself, Carter hunkered down and tried to open the trap. Initially Foxy was so upset that Carter thought she might get bitten, but it didn’t happen. Carter recounted: “The entire time I tried to figure out how to get her out of the trap, she was licking me, which even now just about makes me cry.”
She freed Foxy and carried her, running, for 10 minutes back home and took her to the vet. “She just had a really bad bone bruise. You could see it sort of mushed her.” Foxy recovered.
Carter had permission to walk on the land where it happened. She still strolls there, but not during trapping season, and “I learned my lesson to keep her on a leash,” she said.
The neighbor, a farmer, had given a trapper permission to catch coyotes. When he heard what happened to Foxy, the trapper came by and apologized — a gesture Carter said she appreciated. But it didn’t change her mind about trapping and how it needs to change in Vermont.
Foxy recovered, but not all pets do, she said: “She’s one of the lucky ones.”
Activists Want Measures to Keep Pets Safe From Traps
The original print version of this article was headlined “Activists Want Measures to Keep Pets Safe From Traps”
This article appears in The Tech Issue October 2015 (Theme Issue).
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Mr. Baroffio you don’t own Vermont or the animals who live here. The world is a big place and Americans, in particular, move and relocate all the time. Your comments about people who move here and don’t understand “your culture” fail to take into account the melting pot that we are, even domestically. Cultures change. Trapping and hunting cultures are changing, as well as people’s perception of animals’ lives and their suffering.
Coleen Kearon
An animal that is trapped is terrified so the only way it is sleeping is if it has totally exhausted itself and is resting after fighting to get free. Traps are extremely inhumane to any animal and my dog’s best friend was killed in a conibear trap in 2012 while his human mom who is a vet could not save him. Traps are the lazy way to hunt and do not discriminate at all. Animals can not read so they don’t know to stay away from an area and no one can logically believe that trappers report all the domestic animals that are caught in traps. We are fighting to restrict trapping in the state of NH too. You can join our FB page https://www.facebook.com/NH-A-Stars-NH-Advocates-Seeking-Trapping-Analysis-Reform-and-Safety-1420009008300545/. We have already taken it to legislation once and at least got higher penalties for those who do trap illegally but we need to do so much more. It is unfair that public lands are used for trapping where people go out to state parks to enjoy hiking, biking, dog walks, horseback riding, geocaching and other things. The people who enjoy these activities should have as much right to enjoy the land as those who trap. At this time, that is not the case and NH woods along with VT woods are not safe. It is time for reform.
The number of wildlife trapped and killed, for the fur industry, is staggering. Why must our wildlife die at the hands of a few for profit? These animals belong to all of us. I am tried of hearing how trapping regulates wildlife; trapping kills indiscriminately and interferes with the balance of nature. I think Mr. Baroffio’s selfish comments reflect his lack of concern for our wildlife, the dangers that traps pose to all animals, and for our community. He has caught dogs and they just scamper off? I am shocked that he would not try to find the owners and follow up to make sure the dog is not hurt. An animal does not fall asleep in a trap because it is relaxed and feeling good. I can not help but think that trapping is truly a lazy person’s sport. Mandatory reporting is needed to ensure that our endangered wildlife is protected. Every time a new measure in introduced, that would ensure the safety and true regulation of our wildlife, Our Fish and Wildlife Department always has an excuse as to why it can not be enacted. It is about time that people, scientist and biologist included, who do not kill wildlife be included in the decision making process that directly impacts Vermont’s wildlife.
While, Mr. Barroffio is rooted in his tradition; might we consider that all countries and cultures have traditions that are unique or possibly similar, and make up how a person, family or society define themselves. Yet, just because something is part of your past or present doesn’t make it right or moral. Reflection, therefore, on our traditions should not prevent us from changing our behavior or actions for the better. At least, if not for ourselves, for the sake of others and in particular those who are voiceless, such as animals.
We must also recognize the value and importance of our apex predators that are targets for traps. Coyotes, bobcat, and lynx play an essential role in the ecosystem. Their presence or absence has a major effect on the surrounding biological community. As top predators, they help control pests such rodents, rabbits, deer and geese. Rodents also carry the vector for lyme disease and other tick borne diseases. The health care burden from the rising incidence of lyme disease and associated co-infections from tick borne disease should prove reason enough to pay careful attention to the essential function of our apex predators. In 2014,Vermont reported 599 cases of lyme disease. According to Research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that Lyme disease costs the health care system up to $1.3 billion a year in the US. That breaks down to an average of about $3,000 per patient.
The question we should all be asking is, why in light of this bleak future of biological diversity would we as a state, people and society continue to support trapping? It is time to stop viewing this earth, her resources and wildlife as endless. If not for our own sake, at least for the next generations.
How does the FWS commissioner, Mr. Porter, expect us to believe other animals are not trapped indiscriminately. He himself acknowledges that at least 22 endangered American Marten were trapped. Were they the targeted animal? If not, how were they trapped? Birds of prey, such as the endangered bald eagle, or owls, who are victims of traps are either too injured and need to be euthanized or are so severely maimed that they will never survive in the wild again
Trapping requires greater accountability It seems contrary to conservation efforts for the VT FWS to invest money and time trying to relocate animals listed on the endangered species list yet, not create greater accountability for trapping in the state of Vermont. There should be, at minimum, a required trapper identification tag associated with each licensed trap
With Winter drawing near, we should ask ourselves why we still allow trapping, when in this day and age, faux fur and sustainable means to provide us with warmth and clothing are available;
The National Park Survey for the past year showed a $2.8 million dollars brought to the state just on cumulative spending from national and state parks visits (including food, gas and lodging). It would be in the state’s best interest to protect and preserve our wildlife and the ecosystem they inhabit
On the outside chance that Bruce Baroffio is actually able to read this, I would like to tell him that his “out-of-state-city-folk” idea doesn’t hold water any more. VT is not not a backwoods hillbilly state, even if such people live here. There are many institutions of higher education in VT that teach people to be humane, responsible citizens, and they are not “anti-s.” I’m ashamed to read that he is a mechanic (as my grandfather was). He certainly doesn’t speak for everyone in his trade.
Its interesting that Louis Porter says the trapping is not indiscriminate but then goes on to say 22 American Martins were killed. If its not indiscriminate, then why are these animals and other endangered species be trapped and killed.
What Louis Porter didn’t mention was that Martin are NOT rare or endangered. Where there is suitable habit ,Maine,Canada,Alaska,and a number of western states have abundant populations and a healthy sustainable harvest.The reason that we don’t have them is that in the 1800’s Vt. was 20% forest and 80% cleared.Now that we are 20% cleared and 80% forest we have the HABITAT to reintroduce them. Just like we did with beaver and fisher. The whole idea is to get a large enough population to harvest them as a renewable natural resource. The fact that we are catching more in fisher sets is a sign that they are thriving.Regulated trapping has NEVER caused the extinction of a species. Not catching a Martin in a fisher sets is like not catching a bass when you are perch fishing.
It is important to note that the reintroduction of marten would not be possible without the management of the existing fisher population. Currently that management is provided by trapping. Fisher are an apex predator, and are primary predator responsible for preying on marten, lynx, and house cats for that matter.
Modern foothold traps are designed to mitigate animal foot damage. The goal is the successful release of non-target catches. Many may not FEEL this is the case, but that does not change the fact.
My traps are a ready source of locally produced, free-range, organic food for myself and my family. How many will look down upon sportsman and trappers while supporting factory- farming and the “high quality of life” this supports.
Mrs. Carter’s story seems to bring up a lot of emotion, but here are the facts. She was walking her dog, it was caught in a foot trap. She was able to release it without assistance, and the animal suffered no long lasting health effects. Period.
According to the VT FWS — fisher will eat domestic cats, the occurrence of cat in their diet is relatively low. One study conducted in north- central Massachusetts examined 169 scats and 57 gastrointestinal tracts of fishers in attempt to determine their seasonal food habits. Even though domestic cats were common in the semi-rural study area, cat remains were identified in only two percent of the samples collected.
And, from a statement by field biologist Susan Morse of VT- said the fishers are well suited to help control the porcupine population, and that efforts by the state to boost their numbers in Vermont have been successful.
While Fisher may be a NATURAL predator of the American Marten; trapping is an indiscriminate trapping and responsible for the reduction of Marten. The American Marten of note, currently is fairly isolated and indiscriminately trapping them challenges their ability to repopulate.
Lynx and marten are protected under Vermont law, and illegal taking can result in severe penalties. Fish & Wildlife is urging licensed hunters or trappers, who harvest the more common bobcat and fisher during the regulated open season, to learn how to distinguish a lynx and marten from a bobcat or fisher.
We would all be curious to know which of these “locally produced, free range and organic” furbearing animals L Bachand traps to serve for dinner to his family and himself?
Vermont FWS-Furbearer Trapping Seasons
Mink, Skunk, Red & Gray Fox,
Raccoon, Coyote,
Opossum, Weasel
Oct. 24 – Dec. 31
Otter
Oct. 25, 2014 – Feb. 28, 2015 &
Oct. 24, 2015 – Feb. 29, 2016
Muskrat
Oct. 25 2014 – March 31, 2015 &
Oct. 24, 2015 – March 31, 2016
Fisher
Dec. 1 – 31
Bobcat
Dec. 1 – 16
Beaver
Oct. 25, 2014 – March 31, 2015 &
Oct. 24, 2015 – March 31, 2016
Marten, Lynx, Wolf,
Mountain Lion
NO OPEN SEASN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would be of value to state that people can not only agree that trapping is barbaric, cruel and inhumane but also can agree that factory farming is inhumane as well. Regardless of the length of the effect of the accidental trapping poor Foxy experienced; The FACT remains Foxy was injured requiring veterinary attention and expense, her owner was traumatized and neither is an experience any caring pet owner would wish upon their pet or themselves!
Commissioner Porter is lying to the public by stating that trapping isn’t indiscriminate! This is exactly the kind of rhetoric that we are getting sick of.
He and everyone at the department knows trapping is inherently non selective — the very fact that Vermont endangered animals die every year in these traps says it all! We deserve a public explanation from him.
Nonsensical commentary from someone like Bruce Barrofio from the VT Trappers Assoc is expected, but we need to demand better from our Commissioner — he owes us all an explanation. Bruce, just so you know, all your comments did was tick off a lot of people.
I would gladly explain to all which species from that list that I trap, and prepare as food for my family. A couple of points must be made first.
Though you have a list of animals, you know very little about any of them. You are not familiar with their behavior, their habitat, the best management practices for catching them ethically and within the law, or which species are known to be tasty to our picky western pallets.
The individuals discussing incidental catch of marten suffer from the same lack of information. Reintroducing marten is only possible with the trapping of fisher. Otherwise the fisher population would destroy the reintroduced marten. Due to the species involved, their behaviors, their habitats, and their typical size, biologists have yet to find a successful way of excluding marten from a trap set for fisher.
I am a hunter, fisherman, gatherer of wild edibles, and a trapper. During the course of the year I consume trout, yellow perch, dandelion greens, cattail roots, venison, ruffed grouse, cotton-tail rabbit, fiddle-head ferns, beaver, raccoon, wild ramp, chanterelle mushrooms, muskrat, crayfish, and others I am forgetting at this moment.
I commented on this article, not for the other commenters. They obviously have their own beliefs, own agendas, and their own opinions. I comment for those who are less than fully informed and consider themselves open-minded. Please become informed of the facts involved before developing an opinion.
If a culture changes, it should do so organically from within, as has happened already within the trapping community. The research which has gone into ensuring that traps capture the animal humanely and with concern for it’s welfare has been extensive. BMP testing has become the standard for humane trapping, and brought trapping into a new age. The coercion of change and pointless prohibition these folks intend to bring to Vermonter’s deep outdoor connection is fundamentally wrong.
Brenna moved here from Connecticut specifically to attack conservationists, and she’s been pretty open about that. As I look through the negative comments I see at least one NH resident with their own axe to grind, and two New Yorkers including Sid Goodman who has inexplicably decided to dedicate himself to vilifying Commissioner Porter and the entire F&W Department in every electronic venue he can find. It seems like Mr. Baroffio was spot on with his statement about non-Vermonters attacking the roots of Vermont tradition.
The virulent personal attacks against Mr. Baroffio say more about the commenters than they do about their target. That level of anger is a foot-stomping response to the fact that Mr. Baroffio successfully disrupted their false narrative with reason and truth. Antis hate reason and truth.
We’re hearing statements made about the capture of marten, yet despite that marten are expanding their range. Let’s also keep in mind that martens were reintroduced by trapping them elsewhere and transporting them here. In fact it’s common practice for trappers to work hand-in-hand with biologists to benefit ecosystems and ensure healthy populations and biodiversity.
Another red herring is the lynx. It’s not endangered. It simply doesn’t occur here in large numbers because we don’t have the proper habitat to support it. We never will. It makes as much sense as listing alligators as endangered in Vermont. Lynx are nomadic and individuals have been recorded traveling as far as 450 miles. This means the animal which pops twenty miles into northeastern VT for a bite to eat will be back in Canada the next day, where it can be legally hunted and trapped. We’re not protecting anything, kids. It’s a feel-good regulation with no biological basis, but aside from that, Lynx exclusion devices have been developed and are required in the VERY limited range of the state which they travel.
Trapping is a biologically sound, sustainable, organic method of connecting with our natural place in the world. It provides food (raccoon, muskrat, and beaver are good; but bobcat is sublime), and materials for warm, beautiful clothing that don’t require a polluting factory to create from petroleum. It can be used to balance an imbalanced ecosystem or to keep a species at a sustainable level, thereby reducing the suffering that starvation and disease would cause we’re they the limiting factors. It can be used to mitigate property damage and protect livestock, and it poses no threat to properly tended domestic animals. Every year the forests and fields produce a surplus of game and furbearers, and outdoor conservationists harvest a segment of that surplus. This leaves the remaining animals more resources going into the lean winter months, and promotes greater winter survival and a healthier herd overall.
In Jenny’s situation, it sounds as though she was irresponsible in tending her pet. Had Foxy been leashed, or Jenny been on her own land, there would have been virtually no chance of her getting caught. Something that many people ignore is the damage unrestrained domestic dogs do to wildlife. It is interesting that for one who is so set against standard conservation practices, Jenny would choose to allow here dog to run free.
On a neighbors property? Was she trespassing? Her neighbor has a right to trap on his land. if she followed the law and didn’t trespass or kept her dog on a leash we wouldn’t be reading this story! Dogs get trapped because of their owners not the trapper. Dumbasses…
MIKE COVEY —
I live in Vermont. Nice try! Also, trappers won’t be winning any friends in the community by vilifying dog owners. Keep talking though…. you’re just making yourselves look foolish. Carry on!
Domesticated cats and dogs do more harm to wildlife.
http://www.nature.com/…/journal/v4/n1/fu…
http://www.livescience.com/27330-dogs-disr…
As an avid bird watcher, I spend a lot of time in the woods but I also found out that hunters, trappers and fisherman(HTF) do more to conserve wildlife than your average wildlife activists. HTF’s contribute via a 11% excise tax collected on their equipment that must go to wildlife conservation fund known as Pittman-Robertson or the Wildlife Restoration Act.
Though I do not hunt ducks but enjoy photographing them, I am a member of Ducks Unlimited, rated #3 in the country 4 consumer groups including Consumer Reports that 92%! of their proceeds goes directly to the conservation of land and habitat for wildlife. The Humane Society of the US was rated 879 by CR which put it in among scam groups with only less than 15%.
Sorry, I will side with F&W.
Mr. Goodman, I will “Call you out” on your libel accusations to Mr. Covey. Considering Police do not handle “trapping and hunting” violations, they automatically default to F&W Wardens but if you do have a “police report” please, present it. Else your accusation only diminishes your argument against trapping thus supporting Mr Covey.
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All of this has me leaving very angry and frustrated. We have this guy Mike Cove wanting to de-list an endangered animal just so he can trap with less restrictions? Bobcats do a great job keeping rodent populations down and our state is not over populated so what is your excuse to trap them? I’m happy to have one that traverses my land – they kill rodents that carry lyme disease.
All I can say is this: trappers you guys all seem like a bunch of whiners who can’t seem to accept that people are evolving beyond trapping. No one needs to trap for fur anymore. If there are animals that are sick with mange or other issues, they can be caught in live traps and humanely shot. You guys make yourselves out like you’re doing everyone a favor. YOU’RE NOT — You are killing endangered animals, pets and god knows what else.
Thanks for listening folks.
Ms. Carter bears 100% of responsibility for any injury to her dog. And frankly, given her history of “activism”, this whole story is suspicious.
I just donated to the VT Trapper Association in Jenny Carters name.
Sid, why don’t you forward that to me, as I’ve never been informed of the incident myself other than in your rants. I find that to be quite curious. That was my first year trapping, and the only animal I caught on land was a single bobcat, which I’ve mentioned previously is delicious. Also, I’ve never been cited for a F&W violation of any sort because I toe the line. I succeed through hard work, not cheating and thievery. Again, personal attacks like this bear out the reality, those who oppose conservation have an immense anger toward those who can state the case for the outdoor sports. When folks claim to want a conversation, but get angry at anyone who provides a counterpoint, it’s generally because their position won’t stand the scrutiny of an open dialogue. They therefore lash out at anyone who disrupts the narrative.
In society, we have beneficial traditions as well as deleterious and atrocious traditions. If we were call the Vermont tradition of trapping selective to Vermont, that would be called naïve.
Now, whatever a person’s race, creed, color, sexual orientation, country or STATE of origin- we all have the obligation and responsibility as citizens of this planet to bring awareness, attention, education to expose practices and traditions that are not for the greater good of our society, ecosystem or planet.
As an example,Spain’s tradition of bullfighting. Not only do 75% of Spaniards now oppose the bullfight, but also international attention and a call to stop the barbaric practice or tradition continues to be made.
Or…this “Vermont” tradition: cable snares and Conibear traps– devices that can cause painful injuries, such as fractures, dislocation, laceration, hemorrhage, and even forced amputations when the trapped animal chews off his or her own limb to escape the trap. Animals linger in traps and snares while struggling with horrific pain, trauma and a prolonged and painful death. Trapped animals still alive by the time the trapper returns, will be clubbed, strangled, shot or stomped to death, or drowned. Possibly a tiny fraction for consumptive purposes but the primary purpose is for sale of fur.
The fabric industry is alive and well; carpets, upholstery, bedding, are all forms of the same production process. Faux fur does NOT contribute in a greater manner to the “polluting” effects of the production process.
There are thousands of people internationally that do not support trapping and call for its ban. To support a “tradition” that Kills wildlife; begs us to ask how far we have advanced from the Lewis and Clark days.
To prove how “sound” and “connecting” trapping is with our “”natural world”; the challenge stands: Who would be willing to be “trapped” with their foot in a conibear trap in one of the colder months of trapping season; for example, February…. for 24 hours, filmed and recorded by neutral observers and by media? and if you say yes…….. be prepared to go through with it!
the bug house— your disrespect for Jenny Carter and her dog is not only tasteless, but telling. typical arrogant and passive-aggressive replies.
Well Mr. Covey,
Just to set the record straight. I currently live in NH but I was born in Vermont and lived there till I went to college. I still own my parent’s home and I plan to retire one day in VT. In the meantime, I pay taxes there. So I guess I have as much right to an opinion as you do. As for my axe to grind….well if you watched someone you love get strangled to death while you couldn’t do anything about it and to watch that loved one suffered horribly in front of your eyes, would you be happy about it? Trappers are spineless people who get their thrills off from watching animals suffer. Hunters at least go out and actually work to trail an animal and hopefully kill it humanely. When you trap, all you do is set down a death machine and wait for something to walk into it. There is no skill in this. There is no challenge in it but there sure is a lot of pain and misery for the animal that is caught in it. Again, leghold traps are better than they used to be BUT you tell me what animal OR human is not going to struggle when they are held captive? An animal goes into complete terror mode as it struggles to get loose and this means they will do anything to survive including chewing off their paws.
Traps do not discriminate. Traps are inhumane and they have no place in this modern day world. It is interesting that so many people are against trapping yet their voices are not heard and it is the 1% that are trappers who get to have their rights in ALL OF OUR Forests. The majority should be heard and the majority should have the right to decide if trapping is allowed. If that happened, trapping would be abolished as it should be.
Moving to Stowe from Connecticut is not a crime, but assumption that Vermonters live a somehow unacceptable lifestyle that uses trapping tools employing a thorough best management practices (BMP)overview– all in a state where trappers get permission to trap from willing landowners– seems like a carpet-bagger’s approach to improving Vermont culture. Trapping has modernized, something that Seven Days could research and write about with Mr. Baroffio’s assistance, along with experts from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the nation-wide scientific organization which oversaw the BMP trap testing.
My dog was killed in a conibear trap a few hundred feet from my door on my neighbors property last December, 3 days before the end of trapping season, and it was totally legal. There is no releasing the tension of the trap, patting the dog on the head before they scamper off. My dog was dead before we could get to her. A conibear is intended to kill. My husband was putting the dog on a dog run and she got away from him. We knew that the neighbor had a trap on his land and had been keeping the dog tied up. A beaver is an animal a trapper might get with this type of trap. There is no water near our homes. The Warden that came wondered , what could my neighbor been trying to trap? as he looked at the trap site. We are not from out of state. My husbands family has been farming in VT for many generations and he is a hunter of all seasons. Baiting a trap with raw meat is irresistible to dogs. I would like to see changes in the rule that prevents a killing trap from being set within an area around other residences. There are three other houses near ours, one belonging to the trapper-all have dogs all except the trapper. We all have our own privacy and space but are within a few hundred feet from each others doors. Our first family dog lived 15 years and was very much part of our family. Poor Luna was 2 months from her third birthday when she was killed last December. We miss having a family dog but are fearful that if we do bring another here, it too could “accidentally” be killed.
Jessie Mongeon Cambridge, VT
In my above comment left the wrong info about 3 days before the end of the season-I should have said 3 days before the trap would have been required to be five feet off of the ground.
From the geniuses at POW…”As expected, trapping enthusiasts are out there blaming dog owners for their dogs getting trapped.”
Ever get the feeling that the anti trapping enthusiasts aren’t the brightest bulb in the package?
Lifelong Vermonter here. Time to stop trapping. I would give my eye-teeth to see a bobcat on my property, to know that there’s a family of bobcats up there on the hill. To think that there are people causing these animals or any animals to die tortuously for the sake of their fur makes me WEEP. You say you have a right. What about my right to see wildlife?
And if Lynx just duck in from Canada once in a while, what are two doing in Southern Vermont?
I don’t think we should make it impossible for off-grid people who actually walk-the-walk to survive off the land. But I can’t see any positives about trapping.
My grandfather was a sexual abuser of children. So was my father. It’s one of those things. It’s part of growing up here in Vermont and not moving here from Connecticut.