by Mike Covey
A recent commentary by an anti-hunting activist took their standard track in denying the value of the sporting community to wildlife stewardship in Vermont. It is intriguing that this handful of activists has the hubris to claim that they speak for the general public. They don’t. They speak for themselves. If they spoke for the general public, it wouldn’t be the same dozen people writing all the commentaries we have been subjected to for the last 8 years.
As of 2020, Vermont ranked 14th in the nation for hunting participation. About 10% of Vermonters purchase a hunting license annually. They all have friends, neighbors, and family who support them in their lifestyle. Those license purchases provide millions in direct revenue from that small portion of the population, which helps secure our federal funding for wildlife. This funding is generated by excise taxes on the equipment hunters buy to hunt with, and these funds can only be drawn down when license revenues are used for legitimate fish and wildlife stewardship work. Without these license sales, Vermont stands to lose millions of dollars in funding that secures the health and stewardship of our wildlife.
I expect the numbers above dramatically undercount the Vermonters who participate in hunting. That is because we have a large share of the population which has either lifetime licenses or permanent licenses and I don’t believe either are counted in the above stat. So our ranking is likely considerably above 14th when you consider how much of our population is participating but not buying the regular licenses. Of course, they still contribute to the federal monies.
Why do those opposed to hunting and trapping ignore this reality? The answer is simple really. They don’t actually care about wildlife, they just care about removing human influence from wildlife. They dislike the fact that we hunt and utilize wild game and they are perfectly willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
How do they propose to pay for wildlife management in the absence of this small community that does so much for our state? We all know too well the tax burden that comes with living in Vermont. Would we like to see higher taxes, or should we simply do away with the Fish and Wildlife department that these activists constantly malign as incompetent and biased?
They claim Vermont is undergoing a cultural shift that leaves hunting and trapping in the past and when we point out that these activities are a crucial part of the fabric of our state from both a cultural and biological perspective, we are gaslighted and told that “Vermont’s culture is evolving”, and the hunting community is somehow a relic of a bygone era and has no place in the modern world, but license sales recently reached a 30 year high as reported by VT Digger. https://vtdigger.org/2020/12/20/state-reports-fishing-and-hunting-licenses-at-highest-point-in-30-years/
Animal rights activists misuse phrases like “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” (SGCN) as a rallying cry, but they don’t explain that many of our SCGN are abundant. Whitetail deer and snowshoe hare for instance are both classified as such. Their lack of understanding shines through when they make statements such as the assertion that the SGCN list “doesn’t even include” threatened and endangered species. It unequivocally does.
These activists criticize our citizen Fish and Wildlife Board that is informed by biologists from the Department for not being credentialed biologists themselves (which several of them are at any given time), then in the same breath complain that wildlife management isn’t a democratic process. I submit that wildlife management MUST NOT be a democratic process, but rather MUST be guided by science and best practices; of which hunting and trapping have long played a critical role.
These hunting opponents casually describe the Department as disregarding science because they are not catered to, and like any petulant child they lash out incessantly in hopes of getting their way. If you tell a lie often enough, people will start to believe it, correct? This seems to be the driving theory behind their approach. To violently lash out at everybody who doesn’t simply acquiesce to their ideology.
Sure, we see a never-ending stream of letters to the editor from people who carry a strong hatred of hunters, trappers, and in some cases, Vermont’s rural culture in general. If you look back through them you will find it is a handful of activists who write constantly and have nothing new to say. It is time for those of us who understand how intimately these activities are woven into the fabric of our home to start writing as well.
Their activism takes a prejudiced tone we don’t tolerate anywhere else in society, and I question why we have tolerated it this long when directed at the hunting and wildlife management communities.
Our fish and wildlife professionals should be freed to focus on the biological needs of our wildlife and determine how to create the best outcomes for our wildlife. Instead, they are constantly subjected to bombardment from these activists that runs the gamut from derision to threats and their time is wasted responding instead of doing the important biological work that the hunting community funds, work that benefits all species. While our biologists deal with this, leadership at the Department has taken a conciliatory posture that has only exacerbated the problem, and if it continues, Vermonters and our wildlife will be the ultimate losers.
The author is a Williamstown resident and the Executive Director of the Vermont Traditions Coalition.
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Categories: Commentary, Outdoors
Thanks Mike for a very well written article . I have often heard it said that X % ofthe people are pro hunting/trapping, and X % are anti hunting/trapping. Those occupying the middle ground are where this disagreement will be settled. Preaching to the choir, or even to the opposite camp, while not a waste of time, will probably not yield the results that concentrating on the middle ground will . I do not know how to go about this, but that is where our growth lies, and let’s face it growing the sports is the way to save them .
walking thru a deer yard in the spring and finding a hundred piles of deer bones after starving may change some peoples minds.
Nicely written Mike. As a F&W Board member, we’ve made every attempt to bring this group to the table in the desire to be inclusive. To then be accused of not caring, not listening and not including their ideas is deeply offensive. EVERY courtesy was extended, and the animal welfare ideas that were suggested were all about banning the ethical pursuit of harvest. From the onset of the “working group”, extensive changes to trapping were brought forth by the trappers and the Department. Additionally, there were zero regulations around hunting coyotes with hounds. What was brought forth by F&W and the hounding community were some of the most stringent regulations in the country.
None of this was good enough for the animal activists, who then went on to continue to smear and degrade department staff, the F&W Board and all licensed hunters.
Political operatives care not about ethics, liberty, the law, humans or animals of any type. The entire issue was a non-issue until the freaks of misery were deployed to stink up the process, distract and destroy. Case in point, these political operatives make wild animals an issue, while death and destruction of humanity unfolds right in front of them. Spare a few wild animals, while human bodies are stacking like wood, while children are being sold on the internet. Priorities? Not in Pervmont[sic].
Melissa, every single, solitary article that Guy Page has posted on VDC over the last couple of weeks have been authored by pro-trappers – not by animal rights groups or even a solitary animal lover hobbyist amongst them. Therefore, if what you’re claiming is true insofar as obfuscation, it is being perpetrated by the hunting/trapping demographic specifically.
As a free American & regular poster to the VDC, I am simply responding to the plethora of articles posted on VDC with regard to this topic, though I have been somewhat astonished by the abject lack of civility some, though not all, of the posters engage in when confronted with an opinion on the matter that they disagree with.
I simply but firmly agree with one of your former posts on this subject wherein you stated that all living beings are of God’s creation & each deserves to be treated with respect (paraphrasing your post from a few weeks ago).
For me, seeing a still living beautiful Bobcat ensnared by a trap straight through his/her eyeball (image can be seen on Protect Our Wildlife VT website). Such a practice is unrefutably cruel and inhumane to God’s creatures.
Again, just as I asked last time VDC published a pro-trapping article: When you refer to people being smeared and degraded because of a disparate viewpoint & perspective, do you include those on here who oppose trapping, verbalize their opinions backed up by facts, data, & statistics and get called childish, schoolyard names by supposed professionals — or will you almost certainly both tolerate AND condone such tactless and uncivil behavior and merely focus on the supposed, unevidenced (thus far) “attacks” made by animal lovers against F & W personnel? I’m betting it will be either “crickets” or that you will choose the latter.
That was a really enjoyable read. And so “on point”. Not a hunter or trapper or fisherman but understand enough about ecology, biology and systems to know we are an apex predator, and we are needed as all predators are needed. Among other concepts.
You asked why people ignore reality. And that is the crux of the matter. You are asking a small group of individuals/entities to live in reality and that they cannot do. They are a special breed of stupid. I call them the “educated stoopid people”. And you will never get them to actually consider your information nor have them change their tactics. Ever. Once in a blue moon you might get someone to consider but that would be a rarity.
Respectfully,
Pam Baker
The Cougar or panther or “Catamount” were once Apex Predators in VT.
The Wolves that once roamed freely in VT were also Apex Predators in VT.
Both species were exterminated by hunters once human mammals fully began to populate & propagate VT.
Now the hunters all very conveniently claim that the bear/deer/wildcat/whatever – are too abundant forcing them to “intervene” for the “greater good” of all living things whilst accepting ZERO responsibility in originally altering the natural ecosystem that originally existed without the litany of supposed problems of overpopulation which a minority percentage of the general populace of every state claim requires “man” now to “manage”.
But despite the continuation of juvenile name-calling and the usual histrionics over “xenaphobia”, (if you, for example, consider a human-being raised in Burlington VT being traumatized through being forced to habituate near a human-being raised in Acra, NY is genuine “trauma”) – what was the conclusion of the VT Fish & Wildlife meeting that was supposed to have been held last Thursday? Any resolution?
I for one would like to be apprised as to what transpired last week as opposed to the one-sided articles and the usual idiocy that goes ’round & ’round over trapping specifically & accomplishes nothing. Such genuine STUPIDITY (engaging in the same act over & over and expecting different results) is never going to change the findings of the VT Fish & Wildlife Department poll that determined that approximately two-thirds of Vermont residents oppose trapping.
What was the determination from last week?
Ms. Gaffney, clearly the historical facts you state regarding the Catamount and the wolf, were poor and antiquated management techniques. As was all wildlife management at that period in our history. I would recommend that you not equate what is currently going on with what has happened in the past. I am not a fan of trapping. But since we do not have any large apex predators as you have pointed out, we must fill in. What do you know about the Mustelidae family? I don’t know much but I know it is almost impossible to hunt them in the traditional sense.
But sometimes, as much as I love your passion and your knowledge, it is difficult to ascertain your point. I was referring in my comment to the rabid animal rights groups who think we should eat only vegetables and not raise and butcher livestock. If you found my comment offensive or personal in some manner, I apologize. You clearly have a great deal of hurt and I am sad to see that.
As an aside, have you ever driven up and down the I-91 corridor? If so, you would be astonished at the number of hawks and other raptors dead along the highway. They find the median a wonderful source of small mammals and often swoop from trees along the sides right into the path of an oncoming vehicle, usually a truck. These are apex predators. Should we outlaw travel along highways or maybe we should just plant trees along medians to prevent hunting for these animals. That’s actually not a bad idea but if what I understand about your apex predator comment, then they should be protected so we don’t have to hunt and trap. Did I get that point right? Is that what you were stating? I’m unsure and would appreciate a direct response if you feel it worthy.
Kathleen, you should try to simplify your responses.
I don’t feel that the hunters of today should have to take on the responsibility or actions of generations before. I certainly don’t feel that I should carry the burden or accusation of those that lived before me, such as I am not a racist and I don’t appreciate being called one based on the fact that I believe that history should be taught and monuments and traditions should remain intact as a part of our children’s education.
Life as I see it today is full of humans that are more detached from Nature, more detached from the basics of survival, including harvesting and providing food for themselves and their families. Hunting and trapping has become a tradition and a way of life, it is also is a means of survival for many, it provides nourishment for families, and is a healthier option for many than that of the general grocery store meat. Most humans are completely detached from the land, from the source of their food, and rely on others, corporations for their basic need, their food source.
Due to the increased population in this country and the decrease in land for wildlife populations, as well as the desire to maintain healthy populations of both game and humans – we need to manage the game populations- since we can not seem to manage human populations.
So since I wouldn’t tell you what or how you should “feel” about hunting or trapping. Understand that increasing Fish and Wildlife regulations from the current existing ones will alter the livelihood of those that rely on a way of life that has been the foundation for centuries and unfortunately is where our human population has taken us .
Several generations back hunting wasn’t done by hunters, trapping wasn’t done by trappers. People killed game as a means to survive, to provide food for their children and families. Hunting and trapping really became just that when as a country we saw a need to manage the populations so that people could still use the game for food and yet populations of game could be maintained and not be lost to the over population of humans.
Again, I have no issue with traditional hunting but like the majority of Vermonters – I adamantly oppose trapping for the plethora of studied & factual reasons which I have repeated time and time again in these posts – including this thread. Hunting and trapping are not synonymous and in fact, the State of VT has essentially confirmed that through the actions made last Thursday by the LCAR which apparently be revealed in an article, hopefully impartial, in VDC tomorrow.
And again, if you truly wish to find out much more information on trapping aside from what you have been personally informed by those who engage in this torturous “tradition”, please visit the Protect Our Wildlife VT website wherein you can discover much more intimately what egregious harm – supported by data, government statistics, and photographic & video EVIDENCE – the “tradition” of trapping does to the environment we all live in today. As another poster who opposes trapping stated only a few weeks ago – …”not all traditions deserve or demand to be preserved”. And as I’ve stated before, since you brought up racial discrimination in your own post – slavery was a long-held “tradition” in the USA prior to the advent of the Civil War. Those who lived primarily in the south held & used and sometimes sexually assaulted, brutalized, and even murdered black slaves as they considered their lives, within that era, to be of “lesser value” than their own and their “livelihood” was mistakenly thought to depend upon the use & misuse of these slaves. So to in many Asian nations still today, domestic dogs and cats are abused, tortured, and finally brutally killed (often drowned alive in vats of boiling oil) to fulfill a “tradition” of eating dogmeat for either sheer “pleasure” or because it is thought (mistakenly of course) to increase virility in men. These disgusting acts have NOTHING to do with preventing starvation, as a handful of gullible Americans are led to believe. And again, the sad facts are easily accessible online should you possess the stomach to view it.
I thereby oppose any and all “tradition” and “sport” that involves the suffering of any sentient being. While you can choose to support it all you wish as per your freedom of speech & expression, please be mindful that fellow Americans such as myself possess and can therefore express those IDENTICAL freedoms on behalf of my own opinion. For those on here who verbally attack & demean those who are using these innate freedoms per the Constitution – they are merely using their very own freedoms to very visibly express intolerance and juvenile behaviors.
In terms of the aforementioned xenophobia though, here’s something that a number of avowed Constitutionalists that post frequently on VDC ought to think about undertaking – which is to staunchly object to and attempt to alter portions of that very document that they claim to hold in such esteem:
Constitutional Freedoms: Freedom of Movement: (Privileges & immunities Clause):
“The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all of the privileges & immunities of citizens of the several states.
The court has afterward defined, over & again, that this freedom entails free ingress into other states and free egress from them.
Therefore, annually, over the course of the hundreds of years of our history, peoples have moved into the state of VT and peoples have relocated OUT of the state of VT and such continues through to the present day.
The only indigenous VT peoples are “native Americans” or those whose ancestors came to the North American Continent NOT via way of Europe during the massive Irish Immigration wave or once Ellis Island opened in the late 19th Century. It excludes also those whose forebearers originated from those points and settled first in various other states such as CT, MA, and NY and then filtered into VT over many decades. Another wave of those who began to populate VT were those who arrived even a bit later from “foreign” countries such as Canada and then became American citizens taking up homestead in VT via their emigration out of that particular foreign land.
But in the end, some born & raised in VT choose to trap, whilst most do not (as per extant polling) and some who reside here now as citizens of VT were not born & raised here choose to trap, whilst most do not. No matter what one’s preferences & choices are – there are those who disagree with you & those who do not. And no amount of VDC articles or commentaries shall alter these realities.
The only unrefuted certainty is that ALL Americans hold the identical rights as do others, all have the innate right to relocate to VT and to relocate FROM VT which is utilized annually by a plethora of Vermonters born & raised here once becoming college graduates, (according to VT State stats) and that the only “natives” to any state within the contiguous United States are those without ANY European ancestry or DNA and whom can trace their lineage back to a now no longer extant land bridge.
The indigenous Cree and other extant tribes still depend on the trapping trade. Will you end that practice, and impoverish them, Ms. Gaffney? As wildlife biologist and experienced trapper Will Staats has explained, the trapping industry is threatened widely — eliminating fur trading in the US undermines all trapping. But you talk with one-issue extremism and scorn anyone who dares disagree with you as stupid. You claim trapping is “irrefutably cruel,’ so clearly you overrule the entire wildlife department and personnel. Which is to say, you prove Mike Covey correct in his assessment. Finally, this is not a discussion of populist numbers: Vermonters have a longstanding right to hunt, in our Constitution and traditions, for as long as people have moved in and out of these lands. Then you chatter about the indigenous people, which just says it all….. Good job, Mike. These people are whacko.
Amen John !
I’ll continue to support the CHANGES that have been made by the VT legislature (the current governing body of this state whether you like it or not) last Thursday I believe it was, but which Mr. Page for some reason hasn’t yet published an article describing. I’ll also continue to appreciate all the efforts contributed by the Protect Our Wildlife VT conjunction with the efforts supplied by the Protect Our Wildlife VT organization who worked in conjunction with state leaders such as Legislator SETH BONGARTZ, both a “native” Vermonter (as per your collected, fabricated standards) and an attorney like you who was instrumental in calling for and succeeding in creating much needed changes to ensure the protection and safety of protected species and domestic pets!!! As far as the Cree tribe goes, according to the State of VT, they are not a recognized tribe here. Again, perhaps speak to your GOP Governor or maybe even your lawyer colleague & fellow “native” Vermonter, legislator Seth Bongartz whom you obviously also include as a “whacko” for having the gall to advocate for humane treatment of animals! And btw, your use of verbiage is awfully “professional”, “Counselor”. Very, very professional.
I’m left to wonder, if trapping is so offensive to a purported, 75% of Vermont residents, why do we hear non stop from only one zealot? A misguided soul who moved to Vermont for it’s lifestyle. Now, on a mission to impart their own, moral standards.
Excuse me for being brief. I’m busy packing for a vacation visit to Hermosillo where I’ll be leading a campaign to outlaw bull fighting. “¡Olé!”
Huh…..are you potentially calling your Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s Poll of VT residents “fraudulent”? If you are, take it up with them – not me, I’m simply quoting THEIR data. And by the way, two-thirds is not the equivalent of three-quarters, just to correct your math. Two-thirds is actually less.
And there are thousands of trapping opponents and anti-trapping informative articles/photographs/videos/information at your fingertips in VT simply by your perusing:
protectourwildlifevt.org
Insofar as the tenacity of my own commentaries & factual data which I supply with such doggedness which persists in obviously disturbing your very fragile arguments & your disdain for women, it’s possibly because no one is capable of intimidating me into, yet once again, not using my OWN Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech on this site as you continue to do. And I assure you it will not abate despite your very best, though again feeble attempts at harassment, intimidation, incivility, and just plain rude remarks that you specifically employ.
m. c. can not find the word pervmont in the dictionary k. j. g. you have some nerve calling the searsburg selectboard crooks because you do not like windmills
What???? I’m sorry – you have entered a website that does not CENSOR comments protected by Rights to Free Speech unless they threaten someone’s person and under the US and very specifically the VERMONT Constitution (try a read) I can state whatever I like about elected officers, though I never utilized the word “crook” in my post, but infer what you will. And what do windmills have to do with trapping? Confused much?
Ms. Baker, I never inferred that the VT wolf or catamount were “management techniques” – I was pointing out as a matter of fact that as a person of faith – God created His environs with perfection and harmony installing, until fairly recently, two Apex Predators right here in the Northeast corridor that both existed and thrived up until European-Americans arrived on the Continent, proliferated with vigor, altered the woodlands immensely through deforestation, created pastures in their stead, & imported non-indigenous species such as cows & sheep to this New World, and finally proceeded to annihilate every & every native species upon this soil because they perceived they posed a “threat” to their preferred European stock of animals. My point was that until the human mammal intervened – the balance of nature was intact & it thrived and whatever mammals (including humans by the way) couldn’t survive those harsh winters, simply didn’t – it wasn’t even considered that man (which at that era would have been the true, genuine Native Americans) ought to begin culling woodland creatures left and right to “save” them from some type of fate worse than a
natural death they might have, possibly, potentially, maybe succumbed to during a winter season.
Interestingly possibly to you, I am not a vegetarian, I am certainly not a vegan, grew up around hunters my entire early life along the coast of the south shore (the blue-collar, once potato farming, clam digging, lower “echelon” shore) of Long Island, and attend and eagerly partake of the wild game suppers in my area here in VT. You have, if I may suggest, fallen into the hunters’ trap yourself (so to speak here) of their demands that hunting and trapping must be construed as synonymous and MUST be regarded as such under the law – They are in fact NOT and I believe that VT is in the process of providing legal distinction. I am not opposed to hunting but am vehemently opposed to trapping for the myriad of reasons I have previously & repetitively listed which include:
The hundreds of thousands of non-targeted species killed by trapping annually (nationally) including many categorized as “Protect Species”.
The domestic companion animals that are killed or maimed in traps due, in part, to trapper’s ignoring private property boundaries and lax or non-existent laws/regulations in VT that dictate where & when traps can be set, signage alerting hikers/walkers/, etc. Examples of THIS can be easily located online & include VT-specific incidents.
And lastly, the brutal, cruel, and inhumane injuries that ultimately cause the death of a trapped animal in the most prolonged manner and causes unthinkable suffering in the duration. Such is not “sport” or “tradition” but intentionally imparting torture and agony to a mammal that in response feels intense suffering and unmitigated fear. Examples of THIS can be seen online by visiting Protect Our Wildlife VT website.
Lastly, to yet again feebly attempt to equate roadways and presumably accidental roadkill to intentionally setting traps that are well known to cause intense pain and are completely indiscriminate insofar as what species become entrapped, I adamantly continue to oppose it and will continue to do so as loudly & unabashedly as do the trappers who write articles for VDC and their sporting fans who comment on VDC – as such is my right as a VT & US citizen.
In the meanwhile, I will also continue to stop & turn my own automobile around without haste whenever I spy a turtle crossing a roadway, one already injured but not killed by a passing vehicle & needs to be taken to a wildlife rehabilitator and volunteering my time and donating money toward animal humane organization, which is also my right.
I’m trusting that explaining my position for the umpteenth time on VDC (though I will continue to do so if truly necessary) may clear up any confusion you had by my statements or my opinion.
Great article as always Mike.. Keep up the good work and don’t let the wack jobs get to you. The fact is as much as the anti’s hate to admit it we are also creatures put on this planet with an evolutionary desire and need to hunt ,forage and survive just like the rest of the animal kingdom. Some people are born with that genetic trait and some are not.. that’s ok but they have no right to restrict others from participating in a completely legal and managed activity. Making wildlife management decisions based on emotions rather than common sense and science would be disastrous for all involved.
Too bad you all are so very obviously triggered by the VT State Legislative committee that has as of last Thursday, again, recommended/made changes to the F & W trapping rules & regulations in order to protect people/endangered species/pets from being injured or killed by traps set by any irresponsible trappers and the inhumane traps they use for pure monetary profit (not livelihood as the fur trade in North America has become largely “extinct”) or “sport” & “tradition”. I’m still unclear why VDC hasn’t published any accurate information as to what transpired last Thursday but I trust it will be forthcoming. In the interim, try your best to accept and lawfully (of course) abide by the myriad of changes that come to all through living. After all, such is life.
And don’t attempt to squelch all the intimidating verbiage & harassment and even bad language some of you utilize — it’s very, very telling……..though it does make all the progressives in the statehouse actually appear much more steady, stable, and even tolerant than do many of you.
not confused and did not wear that stupid face diaper unless forced to by doctors
Ya sure? Now we’re onto another topic: Covid19.
notice how people get confused when taking off the controlled subject of conversation mind control
I certainly do. If you wish to discuss windmills, perhaps comment under a VDC article pertaining to windmills.
Wow.. Someone has way too much free time on her hands 🙂 Very telling!
And it actually looks as though:
1.) Those who respond like Pavlov’s dogs to the “dog whistle” to jump on VDC and hammer ANYONE who dares oppose trapping are in dire need of J-O-B-S are not independent-thinkers.
2.) Supposed “Constitutionalists” on here who claim that the liberals in the VT legislature are no longer “tolerant” of their views & perspectives appear to be people who THEMSELVES aren’t tolerant whatsoever of anyone else’s views & perspectives on this topic.
Guess you’re all, in actuality, cut from the exact same cloth: Fake constitutionalists who merely defer to the Constitution when it suits them and VT legislators who rarely defer to the Constitution because it usually doesn’t suit them.
In the end? You’re all equally as dangerous to Freedom of Speech & Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Movement: Constitutional RIGHTS that apply to: EVERYONE.
message m. c. you are correct about pervmont we are being misled by powerful crime operations
Right on. Thankyou for the comments that are so true. Sportsmen and women don’t look for a fight but when pressured by idiots that make decisions based on nothing, the sports people of the wild will come out and should to defend there rights , and they not only should but need to. This is a great article , please keep up the good work . Oh and please always remember I will be there for you as will my family. Past state Representative and chair of the committee on Fish and Wildlife and water resources , Bob Helm
Again, thank you. Your nasty, demeaning, & childish name-calling against any of the individuals on this site who represent the TWO-THIRDS of Vermont residents who vehemently oppose trapping is, again, currently being noted and amassed by your legislators as they ready to enter the next legislative session. So do feel free to keep up your ornery, ignorant, (in the genuine sense of the word) and vile name-calling, as it helps this case tremendously. The case opposing trapping in its entirety. Bills are pending.
Trapping kills Protected Species and people’s Beloved PETS including Dogs & Cats!
Traps don’t discriminate between a squirrel or your Sheltie dog like the Sheltie Dog Rescue who was KILLED by a TRAP in Vermont one year ago!
Trapping is Opposed by two-thirds of ALL VERMONTERS!!!
Trapping using steel jawed devices to IMPALE animals in death grips torturing them for hours or days until DEATH.
State Legislators: Continue your Battle to Force necessary Trapping changes in the State of Vermont!
And let’s keep going over & over the facts of this detestable, dangerous & deadly “tradition” each & every day!!!
Impale? Like punji sticks ? I’ve never seen traps like that, and certainly they would not be legal in Vermont.
Oh, then take a looksee at (yet again) the Protect Our Wildlife Vermont website and amidst the myriad of photos of various species alive, barely alive, & dead in traps, and you’ll note one pic with a steel “tip” from the said device puncturing straight through the eye of a beautiful Bobcat as it languishes in your trap- still alive suffering horrifically.
Yes, great “sport” & “tradition” indeed…..the Communist Chinese have similar traditions – “holidays” where they chase domestic dogs through the streets beating them to death with bats & similar implements. A fine tradition in Communist China. Videos of that tradition is just as easily assessable online too.
Merry Christmas! Next….
Merry Xmas my favorite feisty fearless lass……in a world where you can be anything,, be the voice for the voiceless. Coinnigh Ort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As I said, not legal in Vermont. The Department has a list of legal traps on their web site .
In the end it’s just all blah blah blah.. Vermont sportsmen will NOT take this issue lightly. We will fight to keep our state as it has always been and not let out of state influences take control of our lives. All the efforts to control us will ultimately fail.. and if by some slim chance this WOKE legislature does manage to pass these restrictions on us ? My personal decision will simply be to NOT COMPLY! Let the chips fall where they may. Hunters, trappers, fishermen will ultimately stand together and win. Simple as that.
So.. Kathleen.. Have at it! You will loose this battle!
And you have that right. Just as two-thirds of those who oppose trapping hold the identical right. See how that works? It’s termed the: US Constitution. Good luck!
And our Vermont constitution has what’s called the “sportsmen’s bill of rights”.. protecting us from unjust intrusions into our way of life..see how that works?
I am not terribly inclined to get into the weeds on this, but polling done by Responsive Management clearly showed that the majority of Vermonters support trapping. Mrs. Gaffney seems to have been provided erroneous information by her source.
http://vtfishandwildlife.com/vt-residents-furbearer-survey
Overall, 60% of residents strongly or moderately support regulated trapping; 29% strongly or moderately disapprove of it; 10% didn’t know; and 6% were neutral (page 20).