What types of traps may be What are some benefits of For more information regarding trapping used in Vermont? trapping? and furbearer management in Vermont, contact: TRAPPING AND The types of traps that may be used are specific in Trapping is often used to restore populations regulations, as are the sizes and locations where traps of animals, such as otter and fisher, in areas Agency of Natural Resources FURBEARER may be set. where they had previously been extirpated. Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Foothold Traps are designed to spring closed on the Fur is a renewable natural resource which 1 National Life Drive, Davis 2 foot of the target animal when it steps on a trigger has many uses. MANAGEMENT mechanism. Contrary to popular belief, in Vermont Montpelier, VT 05620-3702 these traps do not have serrations or teeth. These Trapping is commonly used to capture 802/828-1000 traps are designed to hold the target animal animals and radio collar them for population www.vtfishandwildlife.com IN VERMONT unharmed and are often used in wildlife research studies. and recovery efforts. Trapping has been used in Vermont to reduce Padded Foothold Traps are similar to standard the populations of predators such as raccoon, foothold traps, except the portion of the metal arms fisher, and fox that threaten the recovery of which close on the animal’s foot are padded with endangered species. The Mission of the Vermont Department rubber inserts. Trappers help farmers by removing animals of Fish and Wildlife is the conservation of Species Specific Traps are foothold devices that are causing crop damage. fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats designed specifically for raccoons. The footholding Trappers assist homeowners experiencing mechanism is encased in a protective housing. To set for the people of Vermont. In order to property damage caused by animals such as off the trap, a raccoon must reach into the housing raccoons and skunks. accomplish this mission, the integrity, for a piece of bait and pull on the trigger mechanism. diversity, and vitality of all natural Trappers assist town and state highway Body-gripping Traps are also known as conibears departments by removing beavers which are systems must be protected. or quick-kill traps. They function like a mouse trap, quickly killing the animal by striking the head, neck, flooding roads. or body. Information provided by trappers helps in Cage Traps are wire box traps with one or two the study of wildlife populations. doors designed to restrain an animal in a portable People who trap often have an exceptional cage. They work well for animals like raccoons that knowledge and concern for wildlife and are not afraid of entering cages, but are not efficient natural habitats, and often possess a strong devices for fox or coyotes. sense of stewardship toward nature. Trapping is an important outdoor “According to aboriginal Amer-Indian philosophy, activity that helps to keep people using and respecting animals are not believed to be mutually exclusive. On the contrary, perhaps it is connected to the land. only when we recognize our dependence on other creatures that we truly respect them.” “...hunter-gathers live in the forest, agriculturalists — Alan Herscovici, Second Nature, 1987 live adjacent to but within striking distance of the forest, and urban-industrial men live away from the “Ironically, the elimination of hunting and trapping forest. Paradoxically, the more the spatial separation cultures may actually speed industrial “development” and from the forest, the greater the impact on its ecology, and the further removed the actors from the exploitation of nonrenewable resources—with disastrous consequences of the impact!” consequences for wildlife and the environment.” — M. Gadgill & R Guba, cited in Earth in Mind, David 4/17/2015 CAB/KJR/mmc — Alan Herscovici, Second Nature, 1997 W. Orr, 1994 Trapping to Manage What do people do with the What animals can be trapped Is Trapping Inhumane? Vermont’s Furbearers animals they trap? in Vermont? No, not if traps are used correctly. In Vermont, trapping is one of the most highly-regulated outdoor The Vermont Fish & Wildlife The fur is sold and Licensed trappers trap and sell the fur of: activities. Laws are strictly enforced to ensure traps crafted into articles of Department cares deeply about Beaver Coyote Raccoon Weasel are used correctly. Trappers can humanely catch wildlife, the future of their clothing, folk art, make- Muskrat Red Fox Skunk Bobcat certain animals by choosing the proper type and size populations, and the habitats up and art brushes, Mink Gray Fox River Otter Fisher of trap, and by setting it at a specific location. The they depend on. Although it fishing lures, and other same foothold traps used by trappers are often used by *All of the species listed above are common in Vermont and may be a surprise to some, products. Meat from biologists to live-capture wild animals which are then beavers, raccoons, and exist throughout the entire state. Many are more abundant released unharmed in new areas. regulated trapping plays an now than they were 200 years ago. muskrats is often used for Coyotes, valued for their fur, important role in conservation sometimes prey on livestock. First-time trappers are required to take a training and management of wildlife. tablefare or pet food. The course so they are familiar with the laws, ethics, and Trapping in Vermont is strictly glands and other tissues of certain animals are the humane treatment of wildlife. Laws, regulations, regulated by the Department, thereby ensuring that used in perfumes, leather preservatives, salves, education programs, and capture methods are Vermont’s wildlife populations will be conserved and moisturizers. Trappers cooperate with continually reviewed to ensure that trapping is a for future generations of Vermonters. wildlife agencies by donating carcasses of some humane and responsible activity. trapped animals to be used in biological studies. People trap for many of the same reasons that Finally, carcasses are left in the woods as food for ...when we see land as a community to which we people hunt, fish, garden, or manage a woodlot for belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. other wildlife. Although water control structures are often recommended by firewood. They enjoy interacting with nature and There is no other way for land to survive the impact Department biologists as one solution to human conflicts, many of mechanized man, nor for us to reap from it the learning the habits of animals. Trappers also derive a of the beavers taken by trappers in Vermont are trapped at the “These ties to the land (via regulated trapping), aesthetic harvest it is capable, under science, of sense of satisfaction by providing for themselves request of landowners who must control beaver to avoid passed through generations, are the basis for a strong contributing to culture. and their families via a locally-abundant source of sense of (land) stewardship.” property damage. food and clothing. The economic incentive for — Debra Mason, UVM Master of Science Thesis 1990 trapping varies greatly from person to person as The biggest threat to wildlife is the destruction and Working to Improve degradation of habitat. Effort and money should be well as with the current price of fur. People also trap focused on the conservation and stewardship of Trapping through Research to resolve property damage caused by wildlife such Where does trapping occur? land to ensure the perpetuation of all wildlife as a flooded driveway or crop degradation. Improvements to traps and trapping methods needs populations for future generations. Biologists sometimes trap or enlist the assistance of Trapping occurs on private lands, but only if to continue. Vermont and other state wildlife trappers to manage wildlife populations and to permission is granted by the landowner. It also agencies, in cooperation with the International capture animals for population studies and can occur on state and federal-owned lands. Does trapping harm wildlife Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, have reintroduction efforts. populations? begun a program to develop Best Management Practices (BMPs) for trapping wildlife in the United There are cultural values in the sports, customs, and No. Trapping in Vermont, as in all states, is strictly States. This program includes the largest trap testing experiences that renew contacts with wild things… regulated. It is only allowed for species which are study ever conducted and has relied on the assistance First, there is value in any experience that reminds us common throughout the state. In fact, because of of wildlife veterinarians, university researchers, of our distinctive national origins and evolutions, i.e. human alterations to the landscape, some wildlife trappers, and other natural resource professionals. that stimulates awareness of history...a farmer boy populations such as raccoon and skunk are higher Once completed, the BMPs for trapping will be arrives in the schoolroom reeking of muskrat; he has today than they were prior to European settlement. provided to state agencies and trappers for tended his traps before breakfast. He is reenacting the Trapping helps to control the numbers of raccoons incorporation into trapper education and wildlife and skunks and reduce predation on the nests of romance of the fur trade. Second, there is value in management programs. BMPs will be used by the migratory songbirds and waterfowl. Restrictions, any experience that reminds us of our dependency on United States as part of an international commitment such as season lengths and bag limits, are used to the soil-plant-animal-man food chain, and of the to identify and promote the use of improved traps Raccoons, a very common species, are trapped for their prevent overtrapping. Trappers’ reports help fundamental organization of the biota. and trapping methods for capturing wildlife. BMPs fur, to help reduce property damage, and to protect the wildlife biologists monitor harvest and the status of will help identify the most scientific, practical, and — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1966 nests of spiny softshell turtles, an endangered species wildlife populations. humane methods of trapping.