Number: 1996-12
WHEREAS, this Nation has a valuable furbearer resource and trapping is an economic asset, socially acceptable, and has cultural and historical values for trappers, farmers, landowners and Native Americans; and
WHEREAS, trapping is used to harvest surpluses of wild animals for their pelts and food values and to control overpopulation and control diseases; and
WHEREAS, trapping is closely regulated by the appropriate state and federal wildlife agencies; and
WHEREAS, trapper education programs, conducted by trained volunteer instructors, have been offered in the United States since the early 1970’s, with some states requiring program completion prior to trapping; and
WHEREAS, trapping is a tool of scientific wildlife management for the purpose of preserving habitat, protecting wildlife and to help protect endangered species, and reducing animal populations that endanger public health and safety, causing severe economic hardship, property damage, and/or predation upon domestic animals; and
WHEREAS, the use of modern scientifically developed restraining devices is an effective and practical tool for capturing certain species while allowing the catch and release of individual animals in order to monitor population and health status; and
WHEREAS, there is an effort to restrict scientific wildlife management by eliminating trapping and modern scientifically developed restraining devices;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in its Annual Meeting assembled March 1-3, 1996 in West Palm Beach, Florida, strongly supports regulated trapping as a safe, efficient, and practical means of taking certain species of furbearers and includes the use of modern scientifically developed restraining devices as an important harvesting method; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization feels it is essential that the trapping industry continue to develop and adopt methods which make animal welfare the priority in accordance with modern technology; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the established methods for trapping not be restricted due to emotion or the disregard for scientific and biological data.