By
Megan Barton, publisher, Cody Enterprise, Dec. 4
Trapping season is underway in Wyoming and now is as good of time as any to make sure you know what you’re doing, ethically and legally.
In short, trapping is not for the faint of heart. To manage a successful trapping season you must endure the weather, hike into areas of land that go untouched by human interaction for a good majority of the year and then harvest the trapped animal. However, the end result is not guaranteed and can end up being quite the headache for most.
Legally, you must check your traps regularly. As “quick kill” devices, snare traps must be checked at least once per week, according to Wyoming Game and Fish, to ensure the probability of the animal’s suffering or having to endure the cold temperature is slim. However, ethically and morally, most trappers check these types of traps every 24-48 hours. The most commonly used traps are foothold or “restraining traps” which require a 72 hour check.
Each trap must be labeled. Your information, name, address, phone number, must be present and/or your trapper identification number on each individual trap. This is required should Game and Fish have to contact the trapper.
Additionally, you must obtain a Wyoming furbearing trapper’s license and educate yourself on the areas in which trapping is allowed.
On the other side of this sport, it is illegal to tamper with traps of any sort and could result in a fine.
Trapping does uphold a good bargain. For your time and effort, which are required, you could walk away with a decent paycheck. Again, not guaranteed. On top of that, wildlife conservation comes into play. Trapping plays a part in predator control and helps maintain the balance of the system throughout the year.
Though trapping is not respected by many, it is a way of life for a number of people in our community.
As we all live in an area that is heavily trapped, we should take the time to educate ourselves on the dos and don’ts of trapping, the impact it has on our wildlife and why it’s needed in our community.
Exposing the Big Game 
It is certainly not needed in any community…..
Certainly not and it is disgraceful that in this century, the medieval torture device is still allowed.
Oh pity the waste of oxygen for all the effort they put in torturing animals to death for entertainment and profit. Go f*** yourself.
How many times do we hear population control brought up when it’s Ecology 101 that predators control their own population densities? It’s not that we don’t understand trappers (and hunters) are important to wildlife conversation – it’s that we’re not buying it.
So well put–thank you!
Trapping is a barbaric activity that is long past due to be retired as a tradition, as a money source, as a means of managing wildlife (hunter-trapper folklore, self-delusion). It is inherently cruel, as is hunting, causing pain and suffering. Awareness of animal cruelty and the sentience of other animals is on the rise worldwide. Hunting and trapping are activities by very few and discouragement and threaten the safety of most non-hunting and non-trapping public. It is not necessary to manage predators. Predators will manage their populations based on available prey, predator elbow room, and available habitat. If they were allowed to be in sufficient numbers, they would manage the numbers and health of bio-diverse ecosystems. Let’s be done with trapping and hunting.
It’s easy to not be faint of heart
When you never had one from the start
That’s it!