Problem persists

Lesley Fox on Metro Vancouver’s approach to beavers.

Make no mistake, cruel trapping is happening right here in our own backyards. Some of the worst offenders include the municipalities of Surrey, Langley, Richmond, Maple Ridge, and Pitt Meadows. Keep in mind traps not only kill beavers, but they have the potential to kill other wildlife and even our pets.

But despite years of local beaver trapping, the problem persists. This is largely because trapping is just a Band-Aid solution. No matter how much trapping is done, attractive habitat and an ongoing food source mean more beavers will return to the area.

Humane drowning

P.E.I. will cull beavers this summer.

“I wish we had a magic wand to fix the problem,” said retired P.E.I. biologist Daryl Guignon. “But it’s not easy, let me tell you. The beavers are so prolific here, they’re in pretty well every watercourse,” so relocating them would be futile.

Clarence Ryan has been a government-contracted trapper in eastern P.E.I. since the beaver management program was first launched. Last season he killed 87 beavers with two types of traps, a traditional Conibear clamp and a submersible snare. The first, the “trap of choice” for professionals, is supposed to kill the beaver instantly, though some environmental groups say it often doesn’t. The second is meant to drown the animal in under five minutes.

“They’re humane, fast and efficient,” Ryan said.

Causing distress

Someone’s been relocating cats in Kitimat; 132 have been reported missing in the last six months.

She said some residents may be fed up with cats “making a mess of their gardens.”

Baumbach urged neighbours to discuss the situation at hand before transporting the felines to the other side of town.

“You can by law be charged under the provincial cruelty animal act because you are causing distress in a domestic animal,” she said. “We understand that cats can be a problem, but we can help people come to some sort of solution.”

Happy trapper

Cape Breton trapper is having a good year.

Willis said trapping coyotes, which come in many different shapes, sizes and colours, is difficult.
“They are one of the cagiest ones to snare. A fox is pretty smart, but they are not as bad as one of them things.”
Once trapped, they usually die quickly, though.
“The snares are designed to lock, and the harder they pull, the tighter it gets and it will not release. They choke off pretty quick.”