https://missoulian.com/opinion/letters/letter-to-the-editor-trapping-too-brutal-for-mt-constitution/article_fb0e5ce2-f144-5795-86aa-29c870bc1b9c.html

• Mar 25, 2021

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House Bill 367would protect trapping under the Montana Constitution.

Hunting and fishing are already included in the Montana Constitution.

Trapping is brutal treatment of Montana’s wildlife.

Over 80 years ago, preservationist Rosalie Edge described steel leg-hold traps as torturing animals before killing them. I have personally come across several wild animals in traps, and these horrific images still haunt me to this day.

This bill is a total power grab by trappers against the citizens of Montana. In 2016, nearly 186,000 Montana voters supported Initiative 177 to rid public lands of traps and snares. I-177 was an effort that involved many volunteers, including many hunters and anglers, and was primarily financed by Montanans.

The Montana Trappers Association, on the other hand, accepted big money from out-of-state organizations and individuals, and thus was able…