"End of the Line": Trapping pics from this past season

[IowaGobblers]

Congrats on a good season!

[GobbleNut]

I was just waiting for a negative comment, I knew all the positive comments were too good to be true lol.  We respect ever animal that we hunt and every animal that we trap.  Taking a single picture or video with an animal in a trap, that has been there for a few hours already is really not going to hurt anything.  We  want to document it in every way possible and the only true way to do that is to walk up on the animal and take a quick video or quick picture.  That animal is not harmed by sitting in that trap, its been there for a little bit anyways so a couple extra minutes isnt hurting anything. 

You have to walk up on animals in the trap anyways and inspect them and make sure their fur is fine and not rubbed.  That takes a little bit of time as well.  If you do happen to catch an animal that is rubbed really bad and you know is not good quality fur it is then your judgment call whether you want to release the animal or dispatch of it.

I thought for a while about whether I wanted to comment on this thread or not.  This is a hunting forum and those of us that participate here do so with the realization that what we do results in the deaths of other "beings" that share this planet with us.  We also realize that for each of us to exist on this planet, other living organisms have to lose their lives in the process.  That is the reality.  We cannot change it,...nor can those who frown upon hunting and trapping.

Having said that, we as hunters must eventually come to the realization that the great majority of people in this country do not hunt or trap,...and that they have the power, through the legislative processes, to either allow us to hunt/trap or to tell us we cannot do so legally.  As such, we tread a fine line with how we portray ourselves to them, and how they "interpret" our actions. 

Your response above to spaightlabs comment is about as reasonable as it could be.  I agree that the animals in the pictures are probably not going to be traumatized any further by the taking of pictures for another minute or two.  And your assertion that if the pelts are not satisfactory, you can release the animal, is a reasonable statement. 

However, spaightlabs comment should be taken seriously.  All of us must understand that the general public does not always see things the same way we hunters and trappers do.  Also, there are plenty of people out there that, frankly, hate our guts and will do anything they can to make us look bad in the eyes of the majority of the public that is willing to accept what we do,....as long as we do it within their view of what is responsible and ethical. 

I will pretty much guarantee you that pictures like the ones posted are an anti-trapping/hunting group's gold mine.  They will exploit them to the max to turn the general public against trapping.  ...And ultimately, they will succeed.  They already have in many states.  Out here in the west, some states have already outlawed trapping on public lands, and the others are quickly moving that way. 

I am not a trapper, but I have nothing against trapping.  However, those that trap better wake up and smell the coffee or you are going to see your privilege of doing so taken away,...and it will not be in the too distant future.

Wildlife in every state belongs to the people, even that which lives on private land!  If the people of this country decide that they do not want us killing their wildlife,...either by trapping, hunting, or even fishing,...they can legislate it out of existence!  It is happening on public land now,...and it can happen on private land, too! 

We must become more conscious of how we present ourselves to the public.  I know you meant no harm on this hunting forum by posting those pictures.  I also know that I will get vilified by some people here for going on this little tirade about it, too.  But folks, if we want to keep doing our thing in this country, we better start understanding that we do it at the will of a very fickle public.  Start thinking about that before posting pictures that can and will be used against us!

[West Augusta]

Come up to Marion county and get some of our Coyotes.  They are everywhere up here.

[longbeard11]

Very Very well said.  I totally agree with all that you said, and I thank you for putting it all into perspective for us.  We realize that as hunters we are a dying breed! It is our responsibility as outdoorsman to pass on our heritage and our traditions in the outdoors down through the generations or else we will surly see it die.  Habitat for our wildlife is slowly shrinking, and so are the populations of the animals we love to hunt.  Like you said, there are a whole lot of people out there that hate us and what we do and will do whatever they can to stop us. 

That being said, I posted these pictures on a hunting based forum for other hunters to enjoy and discuss.  Part of hunting, fishing, trapping, that I have always enjoyed so much is being able to share the pictures and memories with others and talk about it, its what we all love to do.  I am not going to stop doing that for fear that some tree hugging nut job (for lack of better words) could get ahold of those and bash me.  I am a hunter, its in my blood, its what I do.  Yeah I dont want to fuel a fire that is against us, but hey lets face it, no matter what we are doing they are gonna be against us and try and dig up dirt on us for every little move we make.  They will take stuff that is nothing at all and turn it all around to make us looke like violent killing machines.   

We all know what hunting is about here, its not about killing at all, harvesting an animal is just icing on the cake.  Hunting and the outdoors is about spending that time out there with God seeing his beautiful creation.  Listening to the woods wake up in the morning and see what masterpiece he paints in the sky that day.  Sharing that time with your dad or your loved one out there making great memories that you will never forget.  Sure people that are against us will always see our picture as sensless killing, but to me and to us as hunters we look at that picture and we relive that whole hunt in our head and that to me is priceless and is something that I wont stop doing and sharing. 

I was just waiting for a negative comment, I knew all the positive comments were too good to be true lol.  We respect ever animal that we hunt and every animal that we trap.  Taking a single picture or video with an animal in a trap, that has been there for a few hours already is really not going to hurt anything.  We  want to document it in every way possible and the only true way to do that is to walk up on the animal and take a quick video or quick picture.  That animal is not harmed by sitting in that trap, its been there for a little bit anyways so a couple extra minutes isnt hurting anything. 

You have to walk up on animals in the trap anyways and inspect them and make sure their fur is fine and not rubbed.  That takes a little bit of time as well.  If you do happen to catch an animal that is rubbed really bad and you know is not good quality fur it is then your judgment call whether you want to release the animal or dispatch of it.

I thought for a while about whether I wanted to comment on this thread or not.  This is a hunting forum and those of us that participate here do so with the realization that what we do results in the deaths of other "beings" that share this planet with us.  We also realize that for each of us to exist on this planet, other living organisms have to lose their lives in the process.  That is the reality.  We cannot change it,...nor can those who frown upon hunting and trapping.

Having said that, we as hunters must eventually come to the realization that the great majority of people in this country do not hunt or trap,...and that they have the power, through the legislative processes, to either allow us to hunt/trap or to tell us we cannot do so legally.  As such, we tread a fine line with how we portray ourselves to them, and how they "interpret" our actions. 

Your response above to spaightlabs comment is about as reasonable as it could be.  I agree that the animals in the pictures are probably not going to be traumatized any further by the taking of pictures for another minute or two.  And your assertion that if the pelts are not satisfactory, you can release the animal, is a reasonable statement. 

However, spaightlabs comment should be taken seriously.  All of us must understand that the general public does not always see things the same way we hunters and trappers do.  Also, there are plenty of people out there that, frankly, hate our guts and will do anything they can to make us look bad in the eyes of the majority of the public that is willing to accept what we do,....as long as we do it within their view of what is responsible and ethical. 

I will pretty much guarantee you that pictures like the ones posted are an anti-trapping/hunting group's gold mine.  They will exploit them to the max to turn the general public against trapping.  ...And ultimately, they will succeed.  They already have in many states.  Out here in the west, some states have already outlawed trapping on public lands, and the others are quickly moving that way. 

I am not a trapper, but I have nothing against trapping.  However, those that trap better wake up and smell the coffee or you are going to see your privilege of doing so taken away,...and it will not be in the too distant future.

Wildlife in every state belongs to the people, even that which lives on private land!  If the people of this country decide that they do not want us killing their wildlife,...either by trapping, hunting, or even fishing,...they can legislate it out of existence!  It is happening on public land now,...and it can happen on private land, too! 

We must become more conscious of how we present ourselves to the public.  I know you meant no harm on this hunting forum by posting those pictures.  I also know that I will get vilified by some people here for going on this little tirade about it, too.  But folks, if we want to keep doing our thing in this country, we better start understanding that we do it at the will of a very fickle public.  Start thinking about that before posting pictures that can and will be used against us!

[GobbleNut]

Another great response.  I agree that we, as hunters, trappers, or whatever, should not have to defend our way of life against those that do not realize that they, too, are participants,...not just spectators,... in the everyday life and death struggles that take place on this planet.  Unfortunately, in this day and age, we must be very careful about how we portray ourselves.  No personal offense intended by my comments,...just trying to emphasize the point that we all must watch what we do,...there are those out there that will exploit any opportunity they see to condemn us.

[longbeard11]

I totally agree with you!

I have seen this moreso first hand through our trapping series.  There have been multiple people come out and say they are totally against it for whatever reason, and I have come to find out that most of these people that are totally against it just dont understand it whatsoever.  With most of this you will never sway their opinion, all you can do is try and talk with them about it and educate them as to why we do what we do and that we respect all animals we pursue.

[TrackeySauresRex]

Great Catch,Great photos!   

I agree that we, as hunters, trappers, or whatever, should not have to defend our way of life.  Unfortunately, in this day   and age, we must be very careful about how we portray ourselves.   

X/2
Unfortunately..Social media has has hurt us as a whole. 

[brittman]

The first and last photo were all that were needed.

Trapping allows one to use a natural resouce from the land.  Most predator populations are sustainable - these means you can work the same areas every year and kill about the same amount.  It also means that statistically speaking trapping has little impact on the overall game population on which they prey.

The predators populations are largely compensatory.  You are killing what would have died anyways from disease, starvation or other means (road kill).  Trapping at least pulls value from these animals deaths.

Research show that the only way trapping will actually increase game populations is through intensive harvesting ... in the spring and summer when birds are nesting and raising broods.  An area trapped in the fall and winter just gets back filled by other predators in the neighboring areas.