There are a lot of people that think trapping is a bad thing. I did. I was totally against trapping until I went with my husband Ron and the guy that taught Ron to trap. The morning started out at 3 a.m. Definitely earlier than I wanted to get up. Ron and I went on the trap run with his buddy to check his traps. He had over 200 traps out all over Frederick County where we live. When we went to the first trap there was a possum in the trap. Then the next one he had a fox. I was getting really excited seeing so many different animals.
We came to one trap where there was a baby coon (raccoon). I got out of the car and got a stick and started playing with the coon. It was adorable and we let it go. I wanted to take it home for a pet, but Ron said that wouldn’t be a good idea. It was about 12 noon and we proubly checked about 100 traps. Some had animals; some didn’t. At the last farm we went to I saw a cat which had gotten caught in one of the traps. Ron’s buddy put me to the test. Beside the cat was a fox in another of the traps. He told me if I get the cat out of the trap, before he got done, the cat was free to go. Believe me, I did just that! I figured that trap out real quick.
When Ron and I got home I told him I wanted to set our own traps. We went to the only place that we had to trap, which was his granddad's wood lot. I set one trap all by myself and was hoping something would be in the trap when I returned in the morning. We went the next morning and checked our traps. The only trap that had anything in it was mine. I was elated. I had a beautiful red fox. All the anticipation and hard work paid off.
Trapping is a time-honored tradition. Many folks trap for the furs and food, some for recreation and income. Trapping is also important in helping in wildlife management, and especially predators such as coyotes, bobcats, and other varmints. It can also be used as a control measure to reduce certain populations, such as muskrat, raccoons, and beaver and which can cause property damage and facilitate the spread of disease. We sell furs to fur dealers. Trapping is a lot of hard work and a lot of time. So for any of you that think trapping is a awful thing to do, try it one time I bet you will love it.
