I’ve been lurking here on this forum for some time, and for the first time have felt compelled to respond. Specifically, to the issue of trapping and to a man I deeply respect, Dave Petersen.
Dave, I’ve read (and own)every book you’ve penned and have always found you to be an inspiration in my way of life and my personal views on hunting and ethics of the hunt. Like you, I have chosen a simpler way of life and live in a small log cabin “on the edge of wilderness”, although I do commute 120 miles/day to be able to do that; it’s worth it. I explain this only to show you that my response is in no way a “fight back” type of post, but rather to suggest that I have a little insight into the life you've chosen, I think I know you; - a little.
I agree with you on ATV’s and their misuse, like you I use my body and believe that it shouldn’t come easy, I could never see myself hunting a “canned” hunt, or for that matter shooting a bear over bait (as unpopular as that statement may be with some forum members) or in fact any bear, and they live around me. For me, it comes down to ethics and a deeply seated respect for the wildlife and the hunt, and what the “hunt” represents. I am a traditional archer and I believe myself to be an ethical hunter, the kill is not what I seek but rather the time spent in fair chase and the environs that the hunt takes me.
At 52 years old I’ve been hunting since I was 16, but I’ve trapped on and off even longer. My respect for wildlife and hunting and conservation in general can be traced back to my early exposure to the outdoors through furbearer trapping, not hunting. My ethics were born out of trapping, I learned at an early age that hard work is involved and to never take anything for granted that mother nature has given us, and to respect the animal and to be an example for future generations. And throughout these years I have worked hard with trapping organizations to fight legislation to ban trapping as hard as I have fought with my local bow clubs to fight the crossbow being allowed during the bow season in my state. So when I speak of trapping, or for that matter hunting, I believe I can speak knowledgeably about both having participated and having been close to both pursuits for most of my life. I share the same passion for both, they both make up who I am and “shape and drive my life”.
Dave, when you say “the prolonged suffering in non-kill traps I can't stomach, esp. when some weekend trappers check their sets only weekly”, you speak without the first hand knowledge of the trappers art and in fact, it reeks of the fabricated un-truths spoken by the misinformed so called “defenders of wildlife” and their associated groups. You intentionally throw out a statement that people will latch onto and it will stick in their heads and somewhere down the road it becomes to them symbolic of what trapping is, just as it has apparently done with you. It is a careless statement Dave. We haven’t the space here for me to go into the laws of trapping nor the ethics of those I have been associated with during my years afield, but I will give the benefit of the doubt to all trappers; there is no money in it these days, instead those who still do it do it for the same reasons that you and I hunt, whether it be daily or on weekends when they can, they love it and they love where it takes them, and they do it ethically. And yes, there are slobs in all sports. Someone in a post above mentioned that he knew a few trappers and only one checks his traps daily, I then ask of you sir; what did you do about it? Did you report them? If you witnessed someone poach a deer or elk would you report them? If we don’t police these pursuits then the slobs will always be there.
You mention Dave a friend in interior AK, and you rationalize that it is different for him as he must trap, and that he doesn’t like it but he must earn a living. BS. Life is full of choices, if he didn’t like it then he could move to where he didn’t have to trap for money, he could change his life, this isn’t the 1800’s. You can’t pick and choose where it’s wrong and where it’s right Dave; you’re either for or against. It’s the same with hunting, one could rationalize that he/she agrees with hunting for your friend in AK as it is more subsistence driven, but you could certainly go to the supermarket Dave!
You mention limiting the pursuit of trapping to killer traps only, getting rid of the leghold traps. Trap has done a fantastic job above of explaining the pitfalls and hazards of allowing that to happen, so I won’t go into it other than to say I agree with Trap and I would bet that he and I both could give you some factual evidence that would spin your desire 360 degrees back to the leghold. Why shouldn’t we also limit all big game hunting to rifle and/or crossbow? They are more accurate and there is less chance of the lazy hunter who won’t practice his art of injuring the animal thereby causing needless suffering?
Dave, I live in southwestern NY, I have a neighbor who is an artist that you know very well, and I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to visit with him and see his gallery and view his lifestyle. And as you know, he has spent many years as a trapper and as a traditional bowhunter. When you look at his painting of an elk in the dark forest, it evokes a feeling inside you that is akin to me looking at his painting of a muskrat trapper in the marsh at sunrise.
We are not so different Dave, the trapper and the hunter. The desire to kill without the hunt eludes both of us…………
Jim
Topic: Dave Petersen for President (Read 3671 times)
