Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Lately, when I see trapping photos or stories, I find myself feeling sorry for the animals being trapped. I don't understand this because I could and have shot a coyote in a heartbeat. I just don't like the thought of them being in a trap for several hours or overnight. Also the thought of them seeing me or the trapper approach, while they can't run ishard for me to swallow as well. Am I a wimp or what??? I have nothing against it whatsoever, I just don't think I could do it myself. Maybe I'm going soft in my middle age???? Like I said, I can shoot an animal with a gun or bow with no problem, I'm just wondering why this has been bugging me?

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

In the bowhunting forum????

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Its the latest trend....

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Sorry pal, where shouldI have put it, I was looking for opinions, not smart remarks.

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nah. I'm only 20 and am in TOTAL agreement with you. I don't disagree with it at all, and have plenty of friends who trap. I'm not in disagreement at all. It's just for me I couldn't do it. I guess I may be a little soft to be able to do that too, but I just don't have what it takes to walk up to a struggling animal (that I caused) and then watch it tremble in fear because it knows that I am it's death. For me it's better that the animal has no clue. It'd be tough for me too. Killing an animal from stand, or a quick death in any respect is fine, and I am cool with, but for me doing that is tough. Just my honest opinion. And i'm not trying to bash trapping cause it's totally fine with me, it's just I couldn't do it. That's just me.

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I agree with everyone. I'm not against nor for trapping because its something I couldn't ever do. To me anyway, there isn't anything really exciting to me about it. To each their own, and as a hunter, i do support others who do even if it is something I couldn't ever do.

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i'm in total agreement with you there!

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Most don't hunt because they can't kill an animal but aren't against hunting and eating meat. You hunt and can kill animals. They wonder the same thing. How would you answer them if they ask??

The answer isn't any different then the one you are asking about those of usthattrap. The end result is the same as hunting. A dead animal that never wondered if it was getting into heaven someday. Death is not a" thinking "concept for them. They are not human.Their instinct is to survive. I've trapped a lot of animals over the years... most if not allweren't tembling in fear when I approached.I am not saying theywouldn't have run if they could have since it is one oftheir instinctsfor survival. The other two instinctsare tofightor hide.

Bottom line... they are animals. They feed and cloth us. I'vehave a great apperication/respect for animals, how they survive and what they mean to us. Just like hunting...without it or trapping, I wouldn't have learned, apperciated and passed on the knowledge gained by being a part of it.

Tim

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

I should have also added...

Just like the non hunters who support hunting/trapping and our way of life... I thank you for supporting trapping.

Tim

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I agree this should of been under the trapping forum!

For posting this here? YES !

You may feel that way and have a right to how you would feel. I look at it like this. When you go outside and find your young dog or cat half eaten by a coyote or your small dog tied to your step and a coyote is attacking it. The fact that during the winter months the deer herd is being decimated because of coyotes. You know that there is a problem with them. The only real way to control the numbers is by trapping them here. This is not the fields where you can see for miles it is the north woods. Predators kill a large amount of wildlife here and predators mostly hunt at night. With theirkeen senses they are hard to control other wise. That is why here the fish and wildlife employs trappers to help control problem predators in and around some of the towns here. It is a way to control some of the problems with predators here.

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I agree with Phil

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Heck NO! Trappers be proud!! You aren't doing anything illegal. Smear some blood on the animals and ride around town with your animals still in the traps....decorating your truck. Tell everyone that asks how it almost chewed its' own leg off before you got up to it and pierced its skull with your .22. Good SHOT!!

The aforementioned was stated in jest.....kind of. I won't get into my thoughts on trapping.....but will add that it's legal....and that trappers (the ones I know) are pretty careful in how they allow the public to see what they do. They do a good job of flying under the radar.....and we'd do well to follow their lead.

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Yes he is much a better with suprising them with death, LOL

Please remove this thread, more harm then good

Either their wild animals, or their all pets, we can not have it both ways!!!!

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

When we start adding human emotions to animals ,we are siding with the antis. The % of highschool kids trapping today will be the downfall of us all. please rethink your position and introduce a kid to trapping.Protrapping ,prohunting.


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RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Good grief, its getting to the point where I think alot of you people need to hunt with a camera for fear of hurting someones feelings. Trappers kill, so do bow hunters, rifle hunters, etc. Ever trap a mouse in your house? Shed a tear over that? We're not talking about clubbing baby seals here...its largely overgrown rodents and vermin. Trappers do alot of good (in general, theres always a few that don't check traps daily) for the overall ecosystem. With todays fur prices, you can make some decent cash as well.

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Just because someone kills a seal when its fur is at a point where someone will buy it doesnt make em heartless,or anything less of a human.There just like farmers slaughtering squab or veal.Its just that nature raised it not the farmer.
Everyone gets the heartstrings pulled sometimes when they dispatch an animal.Thats just the nature of the beast.By the time we are 45-50 yrs old,we know first hand what the animal is feeling.Weve had to swim for our lives,duck bullets,get people out of wrecked cars,and burry dead friends.
The thing that keeps me focussed is seeing what happens in areas with an unhealthy population.I wont trap in areas where the population isnt out of control.The battle scars,mange,etc realy shows.and that is far worse than death by trapper.I would hope someone would do it for me when the time comes.The trapper that realy knows what hes doing hasnt seen a chewed leg in a lot of years.And when he sets,its got the animals welfare in mind.

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

I agree with the topic creator. Some of the photos seem to have a look of sheer horror on the faces of the animals. I'd rather them pretty much not know what hit them other than have to sit and wait for it.

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Hunting, trapping, and fishing ain't a Walt Disney movie. Why don't you conduct a poll of animals:

Would you rather:

1.Get your foot clamped in a trap then get clubbed over the head.

2.Get an arrow in your lungs and spend 30 minutes drowning in your own blood.

3.Get wounded with a shotgun blast then mauled to death by dogs.

I'm sure they would respond that it all sucks.

Get real, guys[:@]

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Mabe in a perfect world they would all be in convalescent homes eating applesauce when they get too old.Or when they get tired of looking for food,getting ate by bugs,freezing,etc.They could just put a gun in there mouth and end it themselves.
Fact is,trappers are looked at by the general public as though they love all aspects involved.Especially the kill.I dont know any of those trappers.And any trapper or hunter who causes more pain to an animal than he has to is a sadistic sob. I would just as soon watch people like that drown while i use his life jacket for a seat cushn.

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

I have been trapping for some time now, and have had thoughts like that. It is natural to feel some sorrow for the animal you have trapped or hunted. But if you dont have any joy it what you successfully hunted or trapped , its just not meant for you. I just look at it as another way of conservation, and I do also enjoy it very much. Maybe since I started at a young age I have a better understanding of why I do it.

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The end isn't real pretty for most scavengers, whether or not they wind up in the jaws of a double-springed Duke. They're either brutally maimed in auto collisions, infected with horrible disease, suffer horrific orthopedic injuries that leads to their starvation, or killed by something a little higher on the food chain.

I think a lot of hunters find ease in what they do, by hiding behind the rifle/bow, and convincing themselves that the animal is enjoying a quick, painless death. Newsflash - drowning in your own blood is probably not painless, and I'm sure the animal is stricken with complete terror. It's just easy because you're 100 yards away, instead of 3 feet. Trapping, like any other form of hunting, terrorizes animals. It's an undeniable fact. Another undeniable fact is that any animal will eventually die for some reason or another, even if not at the hands of a hunter/trapper, and it will not be a pretty scene. Death isn't pretty, but it's real.

You can hide behind your deer rifle, and usually once the smoke clears, the agony and dying is all-but-over. If you're a trapper, you're seeing every last flick of the tail. I think trapping gives a stark realization about what you're doing out there, but I'd argue that if you can't stomach watching an animal die up close and personal, you're probably only fooling yourself by trotting out the shooting iron in deer season. It's very much the same thing. There's no shame in being bothered by that stuff. Most people can't watch a raccoon flop around after having a .22 round buried in the skull. Most people couldn't work at a slaughterhouse, watching cattle be bled out, skun and butchered. Most people couldn't watch a paraplegic whitetail bawling and crawling with a broadhead buried in its spinal column. They would have nightmares for the next 10 years.

The moral of the story here is that if you think trapping is cruel or heartless, while bowhunting or rifle hunting is not, you're only fooling yourself.

If you spend enough time outside, you'll see that mother nature is cruel. Death is never fun. It's never pretty, no matter if it's at the hands of a hunter, trapper, predator, disease, weather, starvation, vehicle, injury or any combination of those factors.

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

You guys didnt really grow up on a farm or in the country did you ? Nature is cruel. Animals are placed here by God for us to use. Animals are not people. What happens in salughter houses everyday is many times "worse" than what happens to a trapped animal.

You've been conditioned to think trapping is bad. Trapping was a big part of my early teens. I've killed animals a variety of ways, some would make you scream like a little girl. Thats not a good thing or a bad thing ........ its just the way it is.

You shoot a deer through the lungs with a sharp broadhead, you catch a fox with a foothold trap and shoot him in the head .......... neither is cruel, neither is inhumane.

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Hopefully, this issue is settled. If not, it will likely turn into another 30 page thread where people try to bash the hunting styles that they don't like.

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It always amazes me how much BS prople can read into a statemant. Read this carefully so you all get it right. I am no anti, nor do I hide behind my guns and bows. I simply said I don't understand why trapping photos or the idea of trapping does not appeal to me when I enjoy all other kinds of hunting(and killing) (Yes I enjoy killing animals when I'm hunting, otherwise I would,nt do it.) I completely support trapping and have nothing against it, I just don't want to do it myself. This is the first time I have ever seen people on this site start bashing someone, I thought we were better than that here. Sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intention.

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Berwin,

My comments were not directed specifically against you. The problem on this site is that sometimes someone will post comments expressing misgivings about another style of hunting. It then often escalates to that thread becoming a soapbox for others to pile on and start bashing a practice that they don't like or understand. The "victims" then end up pointing out the perceived shortcomings of their critics preferred style of hunting and it goes on forever.

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

I dont think anyones bashing you for anything.I dont take pictures of live animals in traps because i want to let him go or get it done fast.And yea, i know there scared.Except bobcats,let one out of a trap and hes on you like a new suite!!LOL

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Every one has feelings this is what the antis prey on.I trap alot every year and have for years.I do not like it if one of my sets gose roung and the animal did not die as intended.I allso feel bad and cuss my self for things that I have no controle over.I do however love to wall up on a trap and hear that old mity chain rattle.

I allso feel bad if I have to put a dog down so he is not suffering.I allso feel bad if have to dig a splinter out of one my kids.I will allso feel bad if at any time I have to tell the doc to pull the plug on a loved one.

My point is every one has some things that they do that make feeling come up

charles Bradford

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

I didn't mean anything personal there BB - just saying thata lot of guys can sit behind the rifle and pull the trigger from 80 yards out, and by the time the smoke clears, you've got a deer laying in his death bed. It's easy to start thinking that this form of killing is humane or somehow non-violent, when it really is the same thing.

Trapping just puts you in position to really see the fear and terror in theeyes of the prey. Running a broadhead through the lungs of a deer puts him in just as much distress, but since he's running away, it just seems less violent. It's very much the same.

If killing an animal makes you feel bad when you're 3 feet away, it shouldn't make you feel any different if you're 100 yards away, sitting behind a high-powered rifle.

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Heck, after reading that garbage of the " aforementioned " you can keep your thoughts. Not worthanything here. Try the peta website. Theymight buy it and pat you on the back. Make sure you don't mention your petting zoo though!! They might have problems with how you treat " your " tame deer/pets. I won't get into my thoughts onthat. Hey, you're legal. :eek:

That was in jest... kind of... NOT!!! [&:]pathetic!![:'(]

Take your own advise. Try flying under the radar and spare us.

Tim

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I understand, I was saying that trapping simply isn't for me.

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I know I will have to keep my eye on this thread....

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i can understand why it bothers you, and to be honest it's not for me either. i don't have anything against it either and i know it serves a valuable purpose. As long as the animals are not in pain while they are trapped which is true for the most part, then there's no real reason to feel bad for them. i've heard stories and seen pictures of coyotes asleep while their foot is in the trap. i think it's a more humane death to be trapped for a few hours then shot in the head than to bleed to death from a bullet or arrow.

i think quicksilver made a good point too, that if they dont die by being trapped or hunted their probably gonna die a worse death later on. i doubt hardly any wild animals die in their sleep from old age. Also, think about all the furbearers that are being farmed, living in horrible conditions and then have an electric rod stuck up their anus. At least trapping allows animals to live in the wild and then are dispatched quickly and humanely.

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I just started trapping this year and the end result is no different then hunting. When you trap an animal such as a fox, coon or coyote, removing that animal will increase the amount of food/habitat for the rest of its species. It is for the benifit of its population as a whole even it the fate of that one animal is not so good.That animal will die,but it willleave more foodfor the rest of the animals to survive, maybeeven saving the life of another animal that would have starved to death.Sosay theres50coons in a hollow and youtake out 20, then the other 30 coons willgrow stronger,,resulting in a healthier population. The same applies to hunting. Its just a matter of whether its for you or not. I do understand why some people dont trap. And as long as they respect my beliefs, i respect theirs.

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If you ever want to try trapping, use connibers because they do the dispatching for you. One thing I want to point out about useing foot hold traps is the part on the oposite side of the trap, usually the foot, gos numb from cutting off circulation. Thats why you never see an animal chew on part with feeling still in it.like when you sleep the wrong way and your hand or arm gos numb from no circulation. I know that this might not change your perspective but thought I would say somthing that makes it not as cruel to you. There is nothing wrong with the way you feel though. I feel the same way about those people that do the shark tournaments and gaft them and stab them after they tie them to there boat to let them bleed out. The are some people that should never hunt or trap also, like the people that only enjoy it when they kill somthing and brag about beating or teasing an animal in a trap before killing it. Good outdoorsmen hunt, fish, or trapfor all the right reasons while steel being able to enjoy the excitement of it.

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What's the difference if you're killing a deer with a bow or trapping a coyote? You're taking an animal's life either way. Trapping is just as challenging as bowhunting. If you don't want to see pictures of trapped animals, don't click on the link or go to the trapping forum. My dad traps and it's just another way forus to get outdoors and have fun when hunting season is over. Nothing wrong with it in our opinion. You'd feel different if you saw a coyote killing a fawn that had potential to become a respectable buck one day, or any mature deer for that matter. Trapping is another way to control population, like hunting is.

Edit: Sorry, I just looked over your post again, and you said you're not against trapping. I understand that but I was just trying to stand up for trapping because I believe in it.

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Read the name, thats how I feel.
You say you don't understand it, OK, not knowing is why alot of people are agaist hunting/trapping(although I know your not), they think hunting is just torture, pain and killing but we all know thats not the case, soooo TRY IT! You'll never know untill you plan out your own trapline, get ready for the fur to get good, and than get your first catch! It's awsome! I had no idea what I was doing other than that I had the right trap size and good stakes to keep them from having to walk with a bridger on their foot[:'(], other than that, it was trial and error, it took a month and a half for me to get my first but it was worth it(by the way it was a silver fox!!!!).

When I was living in Maui, never once did the thought of hunting come into my head, but once I moved here I descided to give it a try and I was hooked.

RE: Trapping has been bothering me......
 

Quick question furgitter, you said that all of the animals seem scared except bobcats. I haven't trapped until recently, but my brother-in-law is starting a bluetick pup so I trapped a coon (boar) near my house to turn out in front of her. When I went to get the trap (live box trap baited w/ sardines) he acted like he would take my arm off if he got half a chance. (Finally to the question) Are they as vicious as the make out in the cage?

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Ive grabbed alot of raccoons by hand.I wouldnt recomend it.Yes,they are meaner than hell.Theyll run if they can,but put your hands on em and they will turn arround inside there skin and shread you.Thats no exaduration.
On top of that,He may be sick.Were not vets.I get pre exposure rabie shots and still wonder.Any animal should be handled like a rabid one,untill its cold,and the virus is dead.
Give that coon a good head start cause they are not fast,and if the dog catches it,he could be killed.

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They gave it a good head start. My brother-in-law has done a lot of coon hunting, so he knows the ropes. He said that a big boar like that would have no problem handling his half grown dog. Plus he didn't want her to have a bad experience on her first live coon.

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Trapping with cages is fun.You can make some good lure if you want to.Just rot fish for a couple years in a plastic bucket and mix sone veg.oil with it.When its ready you throw it arround the front of the trap and toss some old paper towels and cans in the back of the trap.I have a hard time sharing my lunch with a raccoon.Call me greedy,but i love deeners.