Warning! The following video doesn't show scenes of EXTREME CRUELTY AND VIOLENCE. If stomach turning actual scenes of animal torture offend you I strongly recommend viewing this video.
Wildlife footage provided by Maryland Public Television, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the National Geographic Society amongst others. More seriously it's worth a look, especially the voice over at the beginning by the wildlife biologist. The whole thing lasts under 10 minutes and has a lot of cute scenes with fox.
I personally have never trapped but I did make a snare at the age of 10 or so, just as I'd seen in a book. My dad was proud but my grandfather who was working close by mentioned that it was unlawful, he knew and followed all hunting laws.
Later, in my early twenties I spent plenty of time working in the mountains and forests of the Rocky Mountain west, but like most of my fellows knew very little of the animals living there. One evening at a typical beer guzzling party I met a young guy from the rural south and got to talking to him. I soon realized he had far more knowledge of the life and habits of small carnivores than anyone I'd ever talked to, he had trapped.
Trapping is necessary for the reintroduction and study of just about every small to mid sized carnivore you can think of. Wolf, lynx, marten, otter, you name it. Scientists and biologists use the foothold trap for collaring and testing all the time. It's the safest least harmful method of getting animals. A percentage of animals die from darting, by first trapping the animal scientists are more assured of placing their dart exactly where they want and of having instant access to the animal when it becomes drugged.
The reason I'm talking trapping despite not being a trapper myself is that it has been in the news. In an effort to reduce wolf populations that became larger than states were willing to support some states have begun a trapping season for wolves. Inevitably an online photo of a trapper in front of his trapped but not yet dispatched prey became an internet sensation, a sensation that is amongst the tiny subset of people who follow all things wolf. It helped that the animal had been shot while in the trap and the snow was bloodied, photo shopping spread the pink snow into a huge red circle.
There were editorials bemoaning the lack of tact on the part of the trapper for posting the photo online, facebook outrage etc. Missing was much discussion of trapping itself which is kind of too bad. During Idaho's recent wolf hunting season hunters had a success rate of under 1%, trappers averaged around 10%. As the five or so affected states struggle to regain control of a wolf population trapping will undoubtedly become the preferred method.
I didn't know what was involved with this most common trap so I'll repeat it as I heard it. Foothold traps snap closed but not painfully so. They never open, and animals have large knuckles in their feet so they can't dislodge their feet. They wait there until a trapper arrives who shoots it in the head with typically a 22 rifle for an instant death.
Interesting trivia,, the worlds most formost wolf biologist and advocate David Mech maintains a 200 trap mink set every winter.
Below the fold a couple of "hand in the trap" vids. the second one might better fit the stereotype.