Always Learning - Equal Time

I posted a comment on TripAdvisor after I was involved in the nature walk where I saw the trapped raccoons, and the trapper sent me a note.      This is what he said:

     "Hi, I am the trapper who's traps you saw in the refuge. I am very sorry to have ruined your day and just wanted to touch base with you and let you know the racoons were in no way in any pain and I do check my traps every single day they are out. I do my best to prevent any harm to the animal."

I answered him, thanking him for his reply, said that I am not opposed to hunting animals for human use but that I don't like to see them suffer, and I asked why the animals are trapped.   He answered me, 

    "I do my best to check in the morning hours as the raccoons tend to only move at night.  I'm certain I was there shortly after you had taken a walk.  There is still a very large fur market as well as meat market, everything I harvest is taken care of humanely.  I sell the fur and donate a lot of meat throughout the winter.  I don't want you to get the impression I or any trapper for that matter is just out to kill animals.  It is a very useful tool to help manage certain animals, raccoons in this case (especially in the refuge) can wreck havoc on turtle eggs, waterfowl eggs and young, and many other animals.   Hopefully this helps give you a little bit of peace of mind.  If you have any questions feel free to ask.  Thanks!"

    He also told me that he is taking precautions to keep the animals further away from the trails now because he doesn't want visitors to be upset, especially the young children we sometimes bring along.   Aside from making every effort to respond to my concerns, he has given me a lot to think about.    And as I told him, no matter where I end up on the issues themselves, I admire his willingness to  have the conversation.