A proposed ban on regulated beaver trapping in (of all places) “the beaver state” has pitted wildlife officials against animal activists, and science against social discourse. Beavers have long been associated with the early history of Oregon’s settlement, bringing commerce and trade to the region during settlement, and their pelts today still hold value to a determined sector of the state’s citizenry.

This dichotomy of differing levels with regard for the coyote further polarizes the debate. There’s a lot of people who truly love coyotes, and a lot of people who truly hate ‘em. This makes for quite the balancing act for impartial wildlife professionals when the topics of management, regulated cull, and public safety-driven pest control begin to swirl in the same social cauldron.

Despite the immense benefits regulated hunting promotes, concern over protections for the natural world become more polarized as society drifts farther and farther away from these subsistence activities. This includes any perceived “perversion” of natural resources - backing both the greater hunting community and wildlife management professionals into a corner with regard to what should or should not be tolerated.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold two biennial hearings in December, giving the general public (which includes hunters, anglers, and trappers) an opportunity to offer input on any aspect of Department operations, according to a recent press release.

The new study, which has been conducted periodically since 1995, says most people across the nation support hunting, trapping, fishing and sport shooting activities. The study cautions that approval tends to ebb and flow based on the motivations of those who engage in these activities.

For many in the hunting/conservation worlds, the announcement of Arkansas’ predator permit is a double edged sword. While the permit allows for a restoration of conservation balance, it also raises concerns with the socially perceived wanton waste of natural resources - the furbearers themselves.

For many, the decision came as no surprise, given the historic (and often questionable) legislative decisions and ballot reforms that have plagued "the Sunshine State" for decades. Equally important to note - the recent passage of a ban on trapping is just the first in a line of restrictive animal-use legislation. What does it mean for the citizens of California?

New writings published in the Science Journal urge governments and policymakers to take account of these findings in the face of high-profile emotionally-driven campaigns that call for bans on the regulated hunting of abundant species.

With the official removal of regulated trapping from California’s landscape, concern over wanton waste of wildlife is now a full reality; with viable usage of a fur-bearing animal’s remains no longer permitted.

The state is already seeking to ban the primary mode of “dealing” with the nutria issue (trapping), and is now on a warp-speed course to remove all incentive for anyone to trap the animals in the future (via a fur usage ban). Since the state has done such a “bang-up job” of banning two primary modes of helping to control the persistent fur-bearing rodent, the only thing left to do is ban the craftily little unwanted guests themselves.

With the greater hunting & fishing community leading the “financial charge” to manage and conserve wildlife for all stakeholders, the selfish perpetuation of moral superiority seems to be the driving force for local activists - shaking their fists at the hunting community and real wildlife professionals while damning the human race for ever setting foot off the designated hiking trails.

Ontario Fur Managers Federation brief video clip promoting regulated trapping.

The knee-jerk cliché “they were here first” argument may very well be a valid one, but it detracts from the core issue; how do we continue to live among what has become, for lack of a better term, an evolutionary unprecedented apex predator?

The following letter was recently written by long-time sportsman’s advocate and conservationist William Carney. The following letter appeared in the April 16th editorial/opinion section of the Concord Monitor - a New Hampshire-based newspaper. Bill’s letter is reposted here, with his permission, in its full and uncut entirety. Readers of the Furbearer Conservation blog are encouraged to draw their own conclusions from the content of this letter.

Its not just backwoods fur trappers supporting the fur industry. As the NYC fur ban really started to heat up last month, folks from all walks of American life came out to fight the proposal.

Despite a looming state-wide trapping ban, millions in funding continue to be thrown at a growing nutria invasion. In a year’s time, California’s “nutria eradication task force” has set up 487 camera stations, conducted 1,600 camera checks and administered 995 trap sets. Farmers in San Joaquin Valley have donated five tons of sweet potatoes to be used as nutria bait, according to media reports.

While the rise in elephant populations across Botswana should be prized as the epitome of a conservation success story, the country finds itself being criticized by the same ideology plaguing wildlife management efforts in North America.

Yet another state has been the lucky recipient of the “traveling bobcat circus” that seems to be making its North American Tour. “Cat fights” over bobcat hunting have recently bubbled to the surface in New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana - just to name a few. It now appears we’re on the “West Coast leg” of the show - with California and Colorado facing demands for restrictions from similar players.

Priscilla and George Gilman were treated at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury for wounds sustained during the attack. Priscilla Gilman was bitten on the right forearm and left leg, while George Gilman was bitten on the right leg, according to local news reports. The elderly couple also received four rounds of rabies shots.

The reality is that decisions on the direction of regulated hunting activities are being increasingly dominated by those with a hands-off approach to conservation. Luckily, we have national organizations like the Sportsmen’s Alliance here to help.

A 16-year-old girl says she’s “fortunate to be alive” after reportedly being attacked by a coyote outside her Massachusetts home on Sunday evening. The attack occured as debates about coyote management in the Northeast are intensifying.

While most folks are discussing the rise in problems with coyotes, lawmakers in one Northeast state are calling for more protections. House Bill 442 is currently floating around in New Hampshire’s state house. The bill mandates a closing to coyote hunting from April 1st through August 31st.

Connecticut House Bills 6014 and 6013 seek to effective trapping methods and “prohibit the expansion of hunting” in the Constitution State. 6014 is introduced as the Connecticut trapping community is in the midst of assisting with ongoing bobcat conservation projects across the state. (Read more).

House Bill 442 would place a closed section on the current “year-round” coyote hunting season. The bill seeks to close hunting of coyotes from April 1 through August 31, to coincide with what the bill states are “pup rearing” months. The bill comes at a time when the topic of predator management is immensely polarized across much of North America.

The confirmation of a black bear infected with the rabies virus is the first in North Carolina’s recorded history. Only four cases of rabies in wild black bears has been documented in the continental U.S. since 1999. The discovery comes as bears seem to be popular in headlines Nationwide, and as their populations swell in the Northeast.