We urge the City of Framingham to explore alternatives to lethal beaver trapping (“Framingham to cull beaver population to stop flooding,” Dec. 10).

Trapping is a temporary solution; removing beavers simply opens up the habitat for other beavers, often requiring that lethal trapping be repeated every year or two. In contrast, water flow devices and culvert protectors provide long-term and cost-effective. There are currently more than 1,000 of these devices in operation throughout Massachusetts working to alleviate human-beaver conflicts permanently. Water flow devices are not only a more humane and ecologically sound option, but they also make fiscal sense. Municipalities will, on average, spend less by using a water flow device — most are now expected to last well over ten years — than on continual and repeated trapping.

Studies show that the conibear body-gripping trap can take up to 11 minutes to kill a…