What is one of the benefits of trapping?
Trapping is a long-standing and important cultural activity that has been embraced by thousands of individuals for a variety of reasons. It can be a way to obtain food, fur, or a means to better understand the natural world.
It can also help manage wildlife populations and protect people, property, and habitats.
For example, regulated trapping allows for sustainable beaver populations while minimizing human-wildlife conflicts. Beavers can cut down valuable trees, flood homes and crops, plug culverts, weaken dikes and damage roads. They can cause passage problems for migrating fish as well.
Regulated trapping can help prevent over-population that leads to disease (rabies, sarcoptic mange, tularemia) and starvation. It can also protect endangered and threatened species.
Another benefit of trapping is that it can be used to manage invasive species. For example, nutria in Louisiana have caused extensive damage to coastal marshes and wetlands that support many other animals and plants.
Despite these benefits, trapping can sometimes be controversial. Critics argue that it is a waste of wildlife resources, and some state legislatures have passed laws restricting trapping.
In North America, trapping is regulated by provincial, territorial and state governments through government wildlife biologists and conservation officers. These professionals ensure that trapping is conducted in a humane and responsible manner, with the welfare of wildlife at the forefront. They have also developed Best Management Practices for trapping, which set standards for the efficiency, selectivity and practicality of trapping.