Trapping and Hunting in the Adirondacks

I am in favor of the humane trapping and hunting of non-predatory species. At the start of the semester, I couldn’t bear the thought of killing wild animals just to wear their fur or eat their meat. However, after reading Paul Schneider’s The Adirondacks, I realized that trapping and hunting are more ethical and can control populations unlike fur farms.

Schneider explains that the “anti-fur logic, by necessity, imparts a moral superiority to the products of human industry and agriculture over those ‘harvested in the wild’” (73). I did not think much of this statement until Steve Hall from the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge explained fur farms. He shared that fur farms focus solely on the animals’ furs and ignore their living conditions. Trapping, on the other hand, captures wildlife that experienced suitable conditions. Because of this, trapping and hunting are morally superior options.

Buying from trappers helps finance their work so that they may continue their ethical trapping. A Cornell University study found that only 20% of trappers made money, while another 59% broke even or lost money. Intelligent buying can encourage and enable the more sustainable and ethical trapping and hunting industry. This also enables trappers to maintain their stake in preserving the land because their livelihood depends on the ecosystem’s health (Schneider 73).

My one concern regarding trapping and hunting is the harvesting of predators. Although all species play a role in the ecosystem, predators have an especially important one because they control population sizes of their prey, which then controls the population of the prey’s prey, and so on. When predators, such as wolves and cougars in the Adirondacks, are removed, their prey’s populations often rise to unsustainable levels. For example, deer and beaver populations in the Adirondacks are incredibly high. This leads to several issues including overgrazing and increased incidents with humans, such as car crashes. In response to these uncontrolled populations, humans have adopted the role of “natural predator”  by maintaining populations with hunting and trapping permits. In fact, New York relies on hunters for their beaver population management (Schneider 73).

I hope this post shows that trapping and hunting, when sustainable, can actually benefit the ecosystem and humans. Hunting and trapping is often more ethical, supportive of locals, and beneficial to the ecosystem than fur farming. Although there are issues, such as the hunting of predators, hunting and trapping play a vital role in the Adirondacks.

An image of Steve Hall and a wolf. The wolves' removal from the Adirondacks has led to uncontrolled population growth of deer and beavers. Luckily, hunting and trapping permits can help reduce their populations.

Works Cited:

http://adirondackwildlife.org/WolfieKissMothersDay2008.JPG

Schneider, Paul. The Adirondacks: A History of America’s First Wilderness. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC., 1997. Print.