This letter to Honourable Barry Penner, Minister of Environment, was sent by Bev Lorimer. The response from Nancy Wilkin, Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Stewardship Division, follows.
Minister Penner
Ministry of Environment
Victoria, BC
Re: Trapping
Dear Sir,
I live in Lac Le Jeune, BC which is a small community approximately 20km south of Kamloops. The area includes a very popular Provincial Park, several hundred residents and abundant recreational opportunities including hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking and fishing. I moved to this area for these recreational opportunities, particularly winter activities such as snowshoeing with my dogs.
Over the past few winters, a trapper has become active in the area. I am aware that he has a legal tenure for Trapping. The Trapline Number is TR0319 T002 (Lac Le Jeune, Walloper, McConnell Lake and Connelly Lake). A second active Trapline in the area is Number TR0319 T003.
A few years ago, my hiking partners and I found a leghold trap within a few metres of the Melba Creek Forest Service Road (FSR). This was a site less than 200m from Highway 97D and less than 500m from a Highway Rest Area on the Coquihalla Highway. We had our dogs with us, but luckily a piece of the bait had fallen onto the trap and set it off.
Several weeks ago, I met the trapper on the Walloper Creek FSR which is within the same area as Melba Creek, and less than 500m from a private residence. This area is criss-crossed by designated recreation trails including Schedule ‘A’ Recreation Trails under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forests and Range. I asked this trapper why he couldn’t place the traps farther up the mountain away from the intensive recreational use. He informed me that he had the right to trap anywhere, and that we would be safe if we stayed on the main logging road. Unfortunately, the reason I come to this area is to recreate on the trails through the forest – not on the logging road. To make matters worse, our 4 year old granddaughter has started to snowshoe with us. I am very concerned that she may be injured by these traps.
I understand that this is a historic use of the Crown landbase. However, that doesn’t mean that it has to continue with practices dating from the early 1900’s. Many other Natural Resource Sectors have undergone drastic changes to bring them in line with current natural resource management techniques and public expectations. For instance, our forest industry is one of the best managed in the world. There is legislation that allows for commercial extraction while managing for other values including recreation, wildlife, and general biodiversity. This is addressed through an intensive planning tool called a Forest Stewardship Plan. The introduction of the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) also brought the ranching sector up to current management standards through the introduction of the Range Stewardship Plan. All of these industries operate on a principle of public input and involvement into the management of the Crown’s resource. Even the mining industry is now subject to extensive public involvement through the Environmental Assessment Process.
It is time to revise the applicable legislation that governs trapping so that other values can be incorporated into the management of this industry. Some possible suggestions include:
- For each Trapline, the tenure holder should prepare a management plan that addresses all resource management values and their plan to manage the wildlife species affected by their activities. As it is with the industries mentioned above, this plan should be signed and sealed by the applicable member of a professional body (i.e. Registered Professional Biologist). The public has already shown that Professional Reliance is the minimum standard acceptable.
- The management plan should be advertised for public input. Currently, a 60-day referral period is the standard.
- Areas should be identified that are unavailable for trapping. For instance, a buffer around communities should be in place were trapping is prohibited. We have been told by Trappers that they could even snowmobile on our local groomed cross-country ski trails that prohibit motorized traffic under FRPA. These trails are managed by a volunteer group within a Forest Service Recreation Site. It appears that there are very few restrictions on the placement of traps.
- In areas heavily impacted by the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB), trapping should be decreased to address the significant loss of habitat for small mammals. This should be defined by staff biologists for the Ministry of Environment.
Although I find the indiscriminate use of these traps to be a deplorable and inhumane practice, I am primarily concerned with the apparent lack of management for this industry. This activity must be undertaken in a manner that addresses sound principles of natural resource management and finds balanced solutions that meet economic, environmental and social requirements.
I look forward to your response.
Yours truly,
Beverley Lorimer
Here is the response from Nancy Wilkin, Assistant Deputy Minister:
Reference: 96859
Dear Ms. Lorimer:
Thank you for your letter of January 28, 2008, addressed to the Honourable Barry Penner, Minister of Environment regarding trapping in British Columbia. Your letter has been forwarded to me to respond on the Minister’s behalf.
The Government of British Columbia has long considered trapping to be a responsible and sustainable use of our natural resources. All trappers in the province are required to pass the British Columbia Trappers Education Program, or its equivalent, if they are from other jurisdictions. This course teaches trappers humane trapping techniques, as well as how to wisely manage the fur-bearing animals on their trapline. Trappers in British Columbia are licensed and their harvests are monitored by the Ministry of Environment. Trappers must comply with strict regulations concerning seasons and management quotas to ensure that furbearer populations remain healthy and productive.
The registered trapline system in BC gives trappers exclusive privileges to trap in an area. This system, which has been in place since 1926, fosters stewardship and encourages proper management of furbearers on an individual’s trapline. Over-harvesting a species on a trapline would be detrimental to both the animal population and the livelihood of the trapper who manages the line. The BC Government is satisfied that this system, along with regulations on season lengths and quotas, works to properly manage furbearers in BC.
There are questions about the potential effects of Mountain Pine beetle and associated logging on furbearer species. Studies are being conducted in the province to increase our knowledge in this area, and ministry biologists will adjust trapping seasons if necessary.
In your letter, you mention that you had found a leg hold trap while out hiking. I would like to provide some information on these types of traps. In British Columbia, the conventional leg hold trap, also known as the non-modified leg hold trap, has been prohibited for live capture of all animals since 1983. Modified leg hold traps are legal only for wolf, coyote, fox, bobcat and lynx, and only if the steel jaws are modified to be either “offset”, “laminated,” or “padded” to reduce and eliminate injuries. These non-conventional traps work so well, that they are often the preferred method of capturing animals for scientific or educational purposes when the animal must be released unharmed.
The Ministry of Environment does place some restrictions on where trapping can take place. Under the current regulations, it is an offense to set a trap on land, within 200 meters of a dwelling, unless the trap is a live box or cage trap, or an egg trap (a small trap designed to hold raccoons). This law is to prevent people from setting large traps in populated areas which may potentially harm domestic animals or people. In addition, it is an offense to trap on private land without the permission of the property owner or occupier.
Currently, the Ministry of Environment does not require trappers to mark or post signs in areas where traps are set. Although there are no specific signage regulations, many trappers do place signs warning people that they are entering a trapline area, or that a trap is set nearby. Other trappers, however, do not do this as such postings can result in their traps being vandalized or stolen.
In more rural and back-country areas, it is expected that dogs will be allowed to run off the leash. Pet owners need to be aware that if they allow this activity, there is a very small chance their dogs may come across a trap set during the winter trapping season. Pet owners should keep their dogs under control if they have concerns about the area they are in. No trapper wants to see domestic animals or people harmed by traps. It adversely affects their business, and damages the reputation of trappers province-wide.
Current management of trapping in the province is working well. The trapping industry in the province is fairly small and normally, trapping activities do not come into conflict with recreational land uses. It is important that all wilderness users apply common sense and an awareness of their own safety while conducting their activities, recognizing that they share the land with other user groups.
Thank you again for writing and expressing your concerns.
Yours truly,
Nancy Wilkin
Assistant Deputy Minister
Environmental Stewardship Division
pc: Honourable Barry Penner, Minister of Environment
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