Editor’s note: This commentary is by Alexandra Gessman, a volunteer with Protect Our Wildlife and a resident of Burlington.
[I] recently learned of a Vermont trapper’s request to expand the trapping seasons on both river otters and bobcats, two animals I hope to see in the wild one day, but I’m feeling less and less confident about that. Both otters and bobcats are listed as species of greatest conservation need in Vermont, yet are faced with the possibility of added trapping pressure for commercial and recreational purposes.
If that leaves you scratching your head, you’re not alone. Where does this trapping proposal leave me, and many others, who value these animals alive versus dead? How does this proposal actually help these “species of greatest conservation need?” It doesn’t.
Trappers are already allowed to trap otters and bobcats, but they want to trap more. Otter trapping season runs from October through the end of February, but there is a proposal to expand trapping through the end of March, which may put birthing otter mothers and their pups at risk. As if that isn’t reason enough to deny this proposal, otters face other threats from water pollution to the effects of climate change.
Why is the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board even considering expanding seasons on these animals? I suspect it’s to satisfy trapper convenience and add more trapping opportunities.
Bobcats are at risk of an additional two weeks of trapping pressure so that trappers can sell more fur at auctions that likely end up in the Chinese and Russian fur markets. Bobcats play a vital role in Vermont’s ecology by controlling populations of small mammals, many of whom are hosts to Lyme-carrying ticks, but are sadly viewed as a commodity by some.
As evidenced in the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s thorough Wildlife Action Plan, both species are already faced with various threats from habitat loss, expansion of road systems, and the effects of climate change, so why add more threats? Why is the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board even considering expanding seasons on these animals? I suspect it’s to satisfy trapper convenience and add more trapping opportunities.
The Fish & Wildlife Board president, and at least one other Board member trap. I am thankful that the Fish & Wildlife Department did not support an expanded season on bobcats, and hope that they will do the same for otters, but will the Fish & Wildlife Board, which is responsible for making the ultimate decision to grant or deny the petition, listen?
The Fish & Wildlife Department and Board need to foster trust from the general, non-license holding public if they wish to augment department revenue in the future. Denying this frivolous trapping petition in its entirety would be a good start.
I know many Vermonters appreciate the wildlife our state has to offer, but if we continue to indiscriminately trap and kill our wildlife and ship their fur off to fuel the global fur markets, our chances of viewing one of these animals in the wild will be gone. How do we, as the 99.9 percent majority who do not trap, benefit from expanded otter and bobcat trapping seasons? In a world where we should be moving away from antiquated and cruel practices, it’s alarming to see that some want to trap and kill more animals.
