Trapping Education

Essential to Wildlife Conservation

The more you learn about trapping, the greater appreciation you’ll have for trappers. Learn how trapping supports wildlife conservation, offering many benefits to wildlife and people. 

Trapping Benefits

1. Protecting Endangered Species During Vulnerable Life-cycle periods
   • Foothold traps help protect many rare and endangered species from predators (Examples include the desert tortoise, sea turtles, whooping cranes, black-footed ferrets, and piping plovers)
   • And helps other populations be reintroduced (e.g., river otters; gray, red and mexican wolves; beavers)
   • Trapping helps reduce wildlife diseases
2. Helps Reduce Damage to Property
   • Protects critical road infrastructure from flooding caused by beavers
   • Avoids an estimated $ 1.48 billion alone in home damages in comparison to $600 million in insured damages from one hurricane in 2002
   • Save taxpayers an estimated $202-405 million annually
3.  Helps Improve Wildlife Populations Along with Good Habitat Management
   • Benefits ground-nesting birds (wild turkeys), upland game species (quail, grouse), waterfowl, and deer.
4. Habitat Protection
   • When furbearers overpopulate, they can destroy habitat. For example, the harvest of nutria in Louisiana helps protect 3.6 million acres of coastal wetlands.
   • Wild pigs cause $1.5-$2.5 billion in damage annually
5. Helps to Protect Livestock
   • Prevents $118 million in cattle losses annually
   • Reduces predation on cattle and sheep from coyotes
   • Protects livestock from tick-borne illnesses
6. Protecting Public Health and Safety
   • Keeps pets, gardens, and homesteads safe
   • Trapping helps to reduce the spread of diseases among animals and people, for example, rabies.
7. Sustainable Use
   • Natural fur fibers are a renewable resource and it's more environmentally friendly than other substitutes
   • Sustainable fur harvest with natural fur fibers
   • The fur, meat, bones, and other parts of the harvest can be used.

What are Furbearers?

Furbearers are animals with valuable fur, and the species can vary by state. Common Furbearers include Skunks, Coyotes, and Bobcats. 

Most of these furbearer populations are the highest they’ve been in more than a century. Trapping is so important for keeping these numbers in check for the welfare of other wildlife and helping to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts related to infrastructure. 

Did You Know?

• Ensuring that resources are used responsibly are some of the many ways agencies use trapping.  Trapping is highly regulated by agencies through scientifically based laws, rules, and regulations that are strictly enforced by wildlife conservation officers.  Animal populations are carefully monitored with trapping so that trapping does not cause species to become endangered.
• Only abundant species of wildlife are trapped and its use helps promote healthy population levels. 
• Those who participate in trapping are required to have a trapping or hunting license and education for trappers is provided in all States.
• Wildlife biologists, the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians, and the  American Veterinary Medical Association support the use of trapping in wildlife management, as does the vast majority of the public and many other conservation organizations

Start Trapping

Use the links below for ways to get involved and find out more information on trapping.

• Learn Trapping Best Practice
• North American Trapper Education Course Sign up
• Fur Takers of America
• National Trappers Association
• See videos on Trapping
• Trappers Education Manuel
•  Best Management Practices for Trapping - YouTube