# Trapper ethics



## otterc (Mar 20, 2016)

Set out a beaver/otter line last weekend with my partner. He checked them and pulled nine beaver on the first run. However, at two of the ponds someone came in and put sets less than fifty feet from ours. I for one never set on a pond that someone else is trapping. We did find one pond, several miles from the ponds we already set, where someone had set. We moved on leaving it to that individual. Whoever set up on the ponds we already set, had to walk by our sets to get to where they put theirs. Frustrating.


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## General Ottsc (Oct 5, 2017)

Pretty inconsiderate. Might be an honest mistake, but I doubt it.


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## SJC (Sep 3, 2002)

50 feet? I've had them set 5 feet away...


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## mjh4 (Feb 2, 2018)

Real trappers would not put sets in a area someone else is trapping. That's not cool and very inconsiderate. You should wait to see if it's a kid who doesn't know any better or a idiot who's just trying to cut you off. I'd bet it's some jerk who thinks he can set traps wherever he wants ( to bad some people are like that ). I guess I would just move to a different area to get away from that kind of so called TRAPPER!


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


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## furandhides (Jul 3, 2008)

I've had them set on each side of me in runs. takes all kinds.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Public property is public property. I've set in the same areas but I try to stay well away from where they are (50-100 yards or more). I've had other's move in and set 10-20 feet away and I've had them steal my traps.


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## Anita Dwink (Apr 14, 2004)

The tough one is when you know a particular public area has been trapped by the same person every year but doesn't look touched . In the beginning of the season I'll steer clear but i could set it. In the spring i hit it hard if not touched. Not so much ethics as good sportsmanship .


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## Fool'em (Sep 29, 2016)

At least they left your traps and didn't just steal them.
Usually when they find my sets they just take them and walk away. 
This fall setting a crick I ran into another trapper setting up the opposite direction. I told him to go ahead and set his traps as I was only going to be there three days then pull the few traps I was putting in. Turned out we had a great conversation and I felt we left off both feeling good about sharing the location and respecting each other's sets. 
I can deal with competition but what gets me mad is anyone who helps themselves to my equipment.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Fool'em said:


> At least they left your traps and didn't just steal them.
> Usually when they find my sets they just take them and walk away.
> This fall setting a crick I ran into another trapper setting up the opposite direction. I told him to go ahead and set his traps as I was only going to be there three days then pull the few traps I was putting in. Turned out we had a great conversation and I felt we left off both feeling good about sharing the location and respecting each other's sets.
> I can deal with competition but what gets me mad is anyone who helps themselves to my equipment.


Off topic for a minute....

I like the reaction from the DNR and the Police when I call about the stolen trap(s).
They ask how much the trap(s) cost. I tell them and many times it could be under $20.......and I sense an attitude that it's not worthy of time or that it's part of the business.
I then remind them that that tag on the trap(s) has my information on it and could be used illegally and I want darn good documentation on the number and types of traps I've had stolen from me. After that, I think they get a better understanding.


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## SJC (Sep 3, 2002)

I've had guys set the same rat house as me close enough that our chains could tangle. When I finally ran into one and asked what his deal was, he said it was public land and that since I already had all the good spots set, there was no place else to put his traps. Kind of like when you are fishing a good run on a river and someone walks up and starts casting into the same water you are fishing. 

I have been trapping the same marsh along with another guy for 20 some years. Every year we have trapped the same areas. Our lines cross in a couple places and if I get there first, I leave sets for him and he does the same for me. We get along great and always have. A little common courtesy goes a long way...


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## wicklundrh (Mar 18, 2014)

Trappers (as a whole) are some of the most ethical outdoorsmen and women on the planet. The vast majority of us seem to have a better overall understanding of regulating population in terms of animals. Many of us know and understand that we need to ensure we take animals out of the herd in order to control the population. We also know that, by doing so, we make the remaining population better and healthier than we found it. 

Contrary to popular belief. Many of us are not barbaric. We have a true passion for what we do and also a passion and respect for the animals. We care about how we trap them, what they might go through in the traps, and how we dispatch them.

All that said, there are still some people that don't have respect for others. Trappers of yesteryear had lines that extended far and wide. Others trappers in the area knew the areas, respected them, and established their own. Today isn't quite the same with some people that have the "all about me" attitude.


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## Martin Looker (Jul 16, 2015)

I trapped with my Grandpa over 50 years ago and we had the same problems then that you are having now. Some things never seem to change.


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## 9 (Jan 17, 2000)

Well, I've been around awhile and have to disagree. Maybe we've encountered a different type of trapper because from my experience, I've encountered more unethical trappers then ethical!!

I've experienced all the negative encounters as described in this threads' previous posters. It got so bad one year from a trapper following me around the County but adjacent Counties to the degree he called and wrote a "letter of concern" to the MI DNR in Lansing complaining that I had too much private property to trap!!!

How about a handful of trappers over the years following me onto private properties without permission and using my name when approached by the owner!!! Had one wannabe coyote trapper contact me just last year complaining about I had obtained permission to trap properties he wanted even after he'd told me he wasn't trapping them. Told me he changed his mind and though he'd never spoken to the owners, he figured he had exclusive rights since he grew up in the general area!!

How about the ROW trappers who don't get permission and try and run the old "owned by the County" number on ya!! LOL Hell, there's one of these ROW trappers who makes videos of his illegal ROW trapping. Then there was the fella who stopped in his truck and hollered at me to get out of "his ditch"! I hustled right up to his truck and had a real "come-to-Jesus meeting" with him. As it turned out he didn't have any permission at all and when I showed him the Plat Book and where I was and where he was I gave him 2 hours to pull every sob trap of his off my properties. Guess what, as I continued checking my traps I saw that he had pulled everything out ahead of me as I went.

Last be not the least by any stretch, we get to cable restraints. If folks think the majority of cable users in this State are legal, I've got a bridge to nowhere to sell you.


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## 9 (Jan 17, 2000)

Oh, I forgot a dandy! How about the trappers that stood up at the podium during the Dioxin *public hearings *and said they had trapped the Titt. R for over 25-30 years and had never caught a mink because there are no mink on the Titt R. blah-blah and if the MSU trapper(me) says he did, he's a so & so liar! My kid brother who is a scientist attended all of the public meetings sat and listened to these idiots and laughed and laughed.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

General Ottsc said:


> Pretty inconsiderate. Might be an honest mistake, but I doubt it.


I tend to agree with you. But I did do this mistakenly once. 

The second season I trapped my sons and I went on a spring beaver trapping trip. I set one area then headed to our second spot later that evening to set. We came across two trappers who had just finished setting the area. I walked up to their truck and asked them if they were trapping and they said yes they had they area covered. I said ok we will move on. I told him it was my first year beaver trapping in the spring. He then looked at me and Inquired if I we set on a particular spot. I said yes we did set a few traps in there. He kinda smiled and said yeah I was kinda cussing you out earlier today you set fairly close to a few of my traps. I apologized and said we didn't realize what we had done. He laughed and said yeah at first I was mad then I saw some of your sets and thought maybe you were new to the sport. He said after he thought about it we had to be new sport or atleast courteous enough to leave his stuff alone. He ended up giving us some pointers before the conversation was over.


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## General Ottsc (Oct 5, 2017)

DirtySteve said:


> I tend to agree with you. But I did do this mistakenly once.
> 
> The second season I trapped my sons and I went on a spring beaver trapping trip. I set one area then headed to our second spot later that evening to set. We came across two trappers who had just finished setting the area. I walked up to their truck and asked them if they were trapping and they said yes they had they area covered. I said ok we will move on. I told him it was my first year beaver trapping in the spring. He then looked at me and Inquired if I we set on a particular spot. I said yes we did set a few traps in there. He kinda smiled and said yeah I was kinda cussing you out earlier today you set fairly close to a few of my traps. I apologized and said we didn't realize what we had done. He laughed and said yeah at first I was mad then I saw some of your sets and thought maybe you were new to the sport. He said after he thought about it we had to be new sport or atleast courteous enough to leave his stuff alone. He ended up giving us some pointers before the conversation was over.


That was nice of him. But like you said, it was an honest mistake.


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## 9 (Jan 17, 2000)

Here's two more examples of unethical trapper behavior I've encountered. Remember the guy That hollered at me and I had a "come-to-Jesus meeting" with? Well the next year I'm scouting mink sign/sets two weeks before 11/1 and I find someone is setting in the water before season so I call the DNR. The officer shows up and the situation is obvious so he tells me to give him the traps which are tagged and he'll take care of it. Done deal. Later the Officer told me that the trapper lived nearby and just didn't know the Regs on **** trapping and was given a warning.

Later, season opens for mink/rats and I've exclusive trapping rights to a large corporation's property so I'm looking to set on a ditch within the corporation's property and what do I find??? A 1/2 dozen colony traps! I call Security and they have me retrieve the traps and by golly they are tagged. Security contacts the name on the tags and the trapper shows up. Security does do a darn good job of questioning and I'm standing there listening to this guy do the tap dance and bs the Security. He tells Security that he had 2 doz colony traps stolen (remember this is 2nd morning of season) and he continues to bs the Security Officer. Well it turns out that this guy is the father of the A-hole who I had the "come-to-Jesus meeting" with the year before and they only live 2 miles away AND they were the ones who had set traps early!!!!!

Security tells him to get ALL of his traps off the company's property immediately and not come back. Low and behold, the guy only picks up the 1/2 doz and says that's all and leaves. He says "thats all", WTF is that??!!! I ask Security if they were going to charge him with trespassing and he said no even though he knew the trapper was lying, too small of a deal to screw with but I was to watch out for any more illegal activity and trespassing.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

General Ottsc said:


> That was nice of him. But like you said, it was an honest mistake.


I think the fact that I had two sons with me probably helped with his attitude too.


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## Patrickr (May 2, 2016)

While I would never, ever, touch another person's traps or catches, I will and have trapped near (not on top of though) other trappers. Especially on public lands. My license is good for the entire State of Michigan. If I tried to avoid my competition I would never trap. There are only so many good locations that are the correct location. I love to trap. It is a part of my DNA. Trapping and hunting to me are religious rights/beliefs. And as I have made a good share of my livelihood from trapping over the years I have a very deep respect for the animals I pursue. But having said that I also realize that I have a financial responsibility to my to myself and my family to be as profitable and efficient as possible. Because of that I don't have the time or the desire to worry about stepping on my competition's toes. I welcome competition; it makes me a better trapper. In a perfect world I wouldn't have any competition, but that is not reality. As long as we are all honest there won't be a problem. 

Seldom, I have had numerous experiences like yours with my fellow trappers, and a few hound owners. Good times.


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## wicklundrh (Mar 18, 2014)

Man am I glad that I have not had those same experiences. Maybe as I get older I find myself pushing further and further away from being around large quantities of people. I find myself more apt to shy away from confrontation these days. But, I can understand where you are coming from. Maybe my memory is slightly skewed these days as well.

The majority of the trapper interaction I have now days is with members on this forum. Based on the information, tips, tricks, and tactics that we have passed around and discussed, one could "surmize" that all trappers are like us. Sadly, as mentioned by others, that isn't the case. Hopefully, through our dialog amongst us, and the slow influx of new talent introduced from regular contributors on this site, we can hopefully make it better and not worse! 

I'm pretty confident in saying that the members on this forum embody the true ethics and sportsmanship as well as love for the animals that I discussed earlier. Maybe that is why my memory is skewed. That or I simply want to shut out the past and not relive it! 

I can tell you that I have learned many new ways of conducting bussiness from this very forum. New ways to dispatch animals that are less intrusive, and as painless as possible to the animal. New gear or setups to help inprove catch rates while ensuring the animal is not hurt or suffering in the process, and different ways to release non target or smaller species with minimal effect to the animal. Outsiders should see that an know that we truley care about the animals we are trapping. Unfortunatley, many of us do not come in contact with one another as like minded indivuals. Instead, as previously stated, tend to come across the less than desirables that end up giving the majority of us a bad reputation or name.


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