MONTGOMERY-Trapping of animals, particularly furbearers, has been part of man’s history for thousands of years. Some of the earliest humans utilized traps to capture prey. Early Europeans and Far East inhabitants used crude trapping techniques to acquire animals for food and fur. One of the primary reasons Europeans moved into North America was to trap the beaver. Beaver pelts were incredibly valuable during this period. In Europe, beaver hats were the fashion of the day and that business drove companies to continue westward expansion to untapped trapping grounds. As with most fashion trends, beaver fur eventually became passé. Changes in public desire for fur, the silk industry, the California gold rush and overharvest signaled the end of an era for the early beaver trapping industry.
Trapping today is much different from in the past. Political and societal views influence laws and trapping regulations. Controversy over trapping methods and trap specifications often clog the pathway of providing accurate trapping information. Trapping is complex and multifaceted, and trapping furbearers for the use of their fur is not the sole reason for trapping. Trapping also plays a part in the management of furbearing animals. Habitat loss and fragmentation, animal damage control, public health and the ethical and responsible treatment of furbearing wildlife plays a role in each state’s trapping policy. 
Every state sets regulations to protect species with low populations such as threatened or endangered species, to regulate harvest for sustained yields, and in many instances to reduce overabundant furbearer species.
Allowing the harvest of furbearers must meet some type of requirements. For instance, the species trapped is not threatened or endangered; harvest techniques are acceptable to a high percentage of the public; and the harvest of the animal serves a practical purpose such as use of the fur or consumption of the meat.
Furbearers are a renewable resource and in many instances produce more offspring in a year than ever survive. Biological carrying capacity is a phrase used to describe the number of animals a habitat can support. Trapping is a management tool to maintain furbearer populations at appropriate levels. Trapping is also efficient because set traps are working 24 hours a day.
In Alabama, most furbearer population levels are very high. Many animals have been forced to live in marginal habitat. This marginal habitat often brings them into contact with humans, which results in many calls to district Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) offices to report conflicts or damage. The WFF provides 
technical guidance on how to deal with these issues. In addition, the WFF offers youth and adult trapping workshops across the state. These events are structured to provide information and hands-on experience with trapping and preparing furs for the market.
The historical value of trapping to this country is immeasurable. While it is true that trapping in the 21st century is vastly different from “mountain man” trapping, it still is a source of connection to the outdoors and a pathway to an important part of the history of the United States—one that should not be forgotten.
MEDIA RELEASE/Richard Tharp, Wildlife Biologist, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
