Trapping and furbearer management in North American wildlife conservation

Abstract

Furbearer Management in North America maintains wild furbearer populations at sustainably harvestable, scientifically determined and socially acceptable levels. Furbearer management impacts numerous wildlife populations and habitats, and human health, safety and property. Achieving balance in the management of furbearers is not always an easy task partly because regulated trapping, a controversial management technique, plays a critical role in this balance. Steps have been taken by wildlife professionals to improve the humaneness of trapping through the development of international standards used to evaluate traps. These efforts will ideally preserve trapping and the many roles it plays in furbearer management and wildlife management in general.