The Rural Voice, 1988-03, Page 22TRAPPING: A Final Analysis
The articles on trapping that have appeared in the past two issues of The Rural Voice have
prompted detailed and well -considered responses from readers. In January, we featured a profile
of Orval Ford, a trapper in the Hanover area who through the Ontario Trappers Association has
been involved with the politics of his business for many years. In February, Gerald Weinberg, who
operates a farm near Meaford, wrote in opposition to Ford's statements. "Trapping," Weinberg
said, "is strictly a cruel business without a conscience."+.
+. This month, we received another
feature-length "letter to the editor."
Kenneth Ottewell, raised on a farm
near Wiarton, writes: "After finishing
a career as a technical teacher four
years ago, my wife, Lois, and I settled
on 115 acres along the Nine Mile
River north of Goderich. We heat
with wood, grow corn, wheat, or
barley, make maple syrup, keep bees,
and generally enjoy lots of wildlife
around us."
"It was interesting to read the last
two issues featuring the pros and cons
of trapping," he continues. "I wish to
make some observations, I hope in an
unbiased way, as I have no particular
axe to grind and do not wish to con-
demn the beliefs of either Mr. Ford or
Mr. Weinberg. I believe I can be
objective because I share very similar
experiences and backgrounds with
both men. In fact, I'm sure I would
enjoy meeting and visiting with each."
"No matter what I say," Ottewell
adds, "I know there will be disagree-
ment from some quarter, but I will call
it the way I see it. Many of my obser-
vations are of a personal nature, and I
hope you will forgive me for that."
0
by Kenneth Ottewell
n the subject of trapping, we
often do not take a wide enough
perspective. We dwell on one
segment or issue, overlooking a fun-
damental point: the fact that we are
all harvesters or depend on harvesters.
Let me explain. Just think of the
wood products (homes, paper, furni-
ture ...) that are produced because we
harvest our trees. Metal products
come from mining the earth. We use
huge amounts of gravel to build roads,
concrete structures, and dams. We
take from the soil to grow crops to
feed ourselves and, even if we do not
wear furs, the synthetic fibres used in
clothing come from our mother earth
in some form. Man is inescapably a
part of the food chain. We cannot be
separated from the environment. Even
the air we breathe is transformed.
Every person, whether he lives off the
land in the backwoods or in a highrise
in the city, lives off the environment.
FORUM
The trapping of wildlife
prompts discussions about
environmental abuse.
Farmers, writes Kenneth
Ottewell, should take some
lessons from the debate.
The question, then, is not whether
we harvest trees, fish, corn, furs, live-
stock, and other resources, but how we
harvest them. We do it in the most
efficient way. We do it in the most
humane way. We do it with the least
detrimental effect on our environment.
And certain groups have more respon-
sibility than others in this harvesting.
But we don't always do the best
job in managing our harvest. Let's
deal with the responsibility of the
farmer for a moment. We know of
areas in our world where poor farming
practices have caused low fertility,
drought, alkaline soils, and, ultimate-
ly, hunger. We see peristent wind and
water erosion left unchecked. We see
the uneducated use of chemicals.
Right now, the government is promot-
ing better "stewardship of the land,"
even in our country where farmers like
to feel they can take their place with
the best in the world. I'm sure there is
room for all of us, myself included, to
improve our use of the land.
Let's talk about animal rights.
Don't forget that domestic animals
were bred and developed from the
wild species by our ancestors. How
then can we make much distinction
between domestic and wild animals as
far as their treatment is concerned? I
don't believe in the harsh treatment or
torture of a skunk any more than I do
in harming my pet dog. Similarly, I
would like to think that very few
farmers abuse their livestock and that
very few hunters or trappers are cruel
to wild animals. But if we harvest
animals for food or furs, domestic or
wild, it involves killing.
Just as there is an acceptable way
to slaughter beef or stick a turkey, the
trapper is expected to kill in the most
humane way possible. I have experi-
enced the killing of both domestic and
wild animals, and it is not pleasant.
But it is our way of life, as man is
probably the greatest predator of all.
A great deal of research has been done
to perfect our techniques of trapping
wild animals. If Mr. Ford means skill-
ful when he calls the better trappers
professional, then I have to agree.*
I've watched some suffering in
domestic animals as well as in wild-
life. I will never forget seeing, as a
child, our mare die from colic brought
on because botfly larvae ate the lining
of her stomach. Did you ever hear the
cries of a rabbit being killed by a fox,
or watch a hawk chase down a mourn-
ing dove? I'm not saying this is an
excuse for man to be cruel; it is simply
the way of nature, which thankfully
we don't witness too often.
Of course there will be stress if
any animal is confined by a trap or
otherwise. Imagine your dog locked
in a car trunk for the first time, or you
trapped in a collapsed building or
20 THE RURAL VOICE