Conibear traps
The trap is really not the problem; it is the lack of responsibility of the owner to keep his dog at home. Most dogs that are let run in the country end up chasing deer at some point in their life. Most trappers do not put the traps in your dooryard or near your home. So keep your animals at home. Would you complain this much if your dog was killed by a timberwolf or cougar that we are told do not exist here!
Beer on the fairgrounds?
Did I read correctly in the Brainerd Dispatch that beer has finally been allowed on the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds through the curling club? This is a crying shame as I thought the people had spoken that they did not want alcohol on the fairgrounds.
Dogs in the woods
Dogs that get caught in traps are hunting. They have no business in the woods.
Vox Pop, voice of the people, publishes Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Submissions are limited to 100 words. To phone in a comment, call (218) 855-5888 and leave a message. To e-mail a comment, write to voxpop@brainerddispatch.com. Comments, which must meet the newspaper’s standards of fairness and good taste, may be edited for clarity, length and libel.


Comments (59)
Add comment45vs9mm
I bet I can dial 911 faster than you can call the CO. I will tell them that I am being threatened with a fire arm.
Either that or I will laugh and walk away from you. Are you really willing to pull the trigger and TAKE A HUMAN LIFE over a trap set? If so....that is pretty sick.
Don't let your mouth write a check you can't cash (or your typing fingers in this case).
Oh...and for I Disagree with Dems....
You are probably seeing fewer pheasants because trappers are killing them and ripping off their wings to use at bait. Apparently the population is not suffering if there is still an active hunting season and they are still seen as expendable enough to be bait.
DokeyOkey
Roll your dice...stealing is stealing no matter where you do it!
Okey
Are you a vegeterian?( An old native word for bad hunter) Have you
ever ate a pheasant wing or drumstick?
Stop the killing of our dogs
If you think that these dog killing traps should be kept out of reach of our dogs please take a minute to send an email the furbearer specialist Jason.Abraham@state.mn.us and tell him you want the DNR to change the regulations. They can do that through the rule making process. Be sure to copy your legislators and Governor Dayton to let them know you want the unnecessary killing of our dogs to stop.
At least 18 states don't allow 220 dog killing body grips to be set on the ground. MN shouldn't either. There are no dog safe sizes of body grips and they don't need to be set on the ground. Trappers have dog safe options that are just as effective. The little 155's kill 30 lb coon so fast they barely move and 120's have killed beagles.
Trappers can set them 5' off the ground for fisher, marten, and coon. Bobcat trappers can use footholds that are at least as effective and many trappers know they are more effective as body grips. Coon trappers can use dog proof coon traps that don't catch dogs because they are made of pipe with only a 1 1/4" opening to the bait.
It is NOT necessary to kill our dogs and they should stop.
By the President's math
That would mean there are at least 39 states that allow the sets.
Actually most of those states
Actually most of those states that allow setting dog killers on the ground have some restrictions on how they can be set. Those restrictions make them less effective and still do not protect dogs.
MN is one of the most reckless states of the 44 states that I have reviewed.
Responsible trappers know that every dog that dies is one step closer to a ban on trapping and I would hope that they would contact Jason, their legislators, and Governor Dayton and let them know they support this change in the regulations. I hope they also state in their message that they are trappers.
old farm boy, you couldnt be farther from the truth
look at western wisconsin and se minnesota. Most of the small town farms and small family farms are now gone. There are a scattering of corporate farms, including 2 by my hometown. Most small farms have been bought up by hunters who do not raise crops, other than small food plots therefore put it in CRP (prime pheasant habitat). The wooded areas are now not run down by cattle (prime grouse habitat especially with the loggers in that area)
My uncles property south of Eau Claire has not had a crop or a cow on it since 1997. When I was a kid, there was 13 working farms in the coulee my uncle lives in, now zero.
Now you get by Arcadia and towards the river there is way more working farms because of Golden Plump and the flatter Trempealeau, Black, Buffalo, Beef, Waumandee river valleys make it easier for corporate farms to harvest fields faster and more efficient.
And as for by Winona, since I went to collegeast St Mary's I am aware the same thing is happening there as across the river. I still hunt there.
I am also aware that there is still farming around because my Dad owns a commercial agriculture business.
If you do not think that there isnt pheasant habitat in southern MN, ask an old timer about the pheasant hunting of the past. I hunt pheasants in southern Minnesota. You get on top of the bluffs and head west, there are lots of birds, not what their should be but still plenty.
Did you know in the 60's, Trempealeau County, WI (across the river from Winona) was known as the pheasant hunting capital of the world?
As for your $14 g's an acre claim...link me up with proof of that. Lots are going for that and thats it. I know what the price of land is. Northwest Iowa has the most expensive land going for just over $7200 an acre. In Buffalo County, my uncleis getting $7600 an acre and there goes another century farm. You know what that is dont you farm boy? For those that dont, its one farm in the same family for at least 100 years. I cant buy it and his sons dont want it. Its sad.
old farm boy, you couldnt be farther from the truth
I am from Western Wisconsin, south of Eau Claire.
I had a longer post but it wont post so here we go...
13 working farms in the Coulee my uncle lives in in 1980, today zero. All that land bought up by hunters who do not raise crops, all CRP (prime pheasant habitat).
All the logging going on and the rise of the poplar tree and the land not having cattle prancing on it (prime grouse habitat)
Of course you have your scattering of corporate farms along the river valleys where it is easier and more efficient for those large farms to plant and harvest. Then you also have working farms scattered around Arcadia because of Golden Plump. But most of those are just coops put up on non-working farms.
Did you know that in the 60's Trempealeau County WI was called the pheasant capitol of the world? Ask an old timer what the pheasant hunting was like in the 50's thru the early 80's.
Southern MN and the southern half of WI are all prime pheasant habitat. I just talked to my grandpa on this and he said when the coons, opossom and skunks came, the pheasants left. Makes sense to me knowing the traits of egg eaters.
As for your $14 g's an acre claim....I would need to see proof of that because thats a little out there, especially knowing what land goes for in Iowa, southern Mn and WI.
Fishhead there is an easy solution
The registration of the sites (with the DNR) along with signage similar to bear baiting would be a great compromise. The issues that arise are more expense for the trapper; possibly more tampering and theft of traps and animals. For those that think tampering is fun, realize that you are messing with people's livelihoods and we do protect our families first.
No one has yet to offer
No one has yet to offer justification for setting these dog killers on the ground when safe and effective alternatives are so readily available.
The only solution is to place them 5' off the ground or underwater.
The logistics of registering them would be a nightmare and wouldn't protect dogs because by the time the dog owner sees the sign the dog has already found the trap and been killed. Fisher and marten season is only 9 days long and many times traps are only set for a day or two before moving. It would also make it really easy for trap thieves.
Justification
They work.
Hands down the most effective way to take the animal and the easiest set to use.
They are not dog sets, they are set for wild animals. There are much easier sets for dogs that are more effective.
From your comment, I will not endorse any restriction.
Your dog did not deserve to die - YOU should have been watching YOUR dog and not tending to YOUR trapline. People like you should not be allowed in the woods. You are ticked off because your dog died and you want someone to blame and you have no person to blame except yourself. YOU allowed it to happen - kick your own butt and leave the responsible people alone.
Are you saying that dog
Are you saying that dog owners should accept their dogs dying because using dog killers is easier for you?
That we should accept having our dogs killed because you are unwilling to learn other methods that most trappers find as good or better?
Are you really saying that? Really?
If your personal attack on me was meant to make me feel bad you're too late. Someone already beat you to it and NOTHING you say or do can make me feel any worse.
No more conibears
Let me give you a look into the world without conibears.....
Conibears were designed to be a fast humane kill. without them we would be stepping back in time, and adding today techknowledgy. This would also up our thinking and creativity.
Foothold traps - without conibears, these would likely be the next choice. Todays foot holds are far more technical than those of the past. With a legal jaw spread of more than 8 inches , 4 coil conversions, welding, and tons of other mods..... little fluffys leg will snap like a twig. I will be the first one to admit if i find a dog in my trap with a broken leg... it's not going home like that, it's disapearring.
Snares - these would be my choice. With current dispatch snares and the other gimics on the market. Your fluffy is really in trouble. Unless you're right there, and holding a pair of good cable cutters.
Basically trappers have learned to work with our limitations on the laws. Removing conibears wouldn't get you anywhere. No matter how much limiting you put on us, we will still find ways to set "kill style traps". I can take the littlest trap on the market, put a drowning cable on it, and it will kill quickly. We set these "kill style traps" because we don't want the animal live. live animals suffer, damage their fur, and cost us time and money. It also looks bad in the public eyes to see a live animal.
FH
You asked for justification - I gave you justification. You didn't like it so you ramble on.
I am saying that pet ownership comes with great responsibility. When you leave the confines of your pet’s safe area, you are the sole protection for that pet. It is your responsibility to watch out for it, if you plan to not pay attention to the pet 100% of the time then leave the pet at home. You had a purpose for being in the woods that day other than paying 100% attention to your pet.
I offered up a compromise for attentive pet owners and trappers. I understand that it would not help someone like yourself who does not intend to watch his or her pet while in the wild.
Vehicles hit 1 million or more dogs each year. Most of these if not all are because they have puttzes for owners. It is not the vehicle’s fault, it is not the roads fault, and it is not the dog’s fault. Your dog did not deserve to die; your dog deserved an owner that would watch out for it. Stop blaming others for your inadequacy of being a dog owner. You were busy doing something else and you left your dog unattended in an area that was most interesting to it. You neglected your dog when your dog needed you most.
I've been told
that I act like a parent with my dog. People don't understand why. He is expected to follow rules. I can be in the middle of a conversation, see him wander or do something hes not supposed to and he gets corrected then I jump right back where I left off in the conversation. Some people think I take it to an extreme, but I do it because you take your eye off your dog for one second and, just like a kid, the worst can happen. Yes, my dog is my kid!
These deaths are terrible, I just get sick of seeing the bickering back and forth. I understand points from each side, now if only we could work together. Have education on both ends, etc. My dog is not a hunter, but having rescued him from a sure death I understand the need to protect them.
Dems
That explains alot. Your from the hilly country. You have to go west of MN/WI border about 150 miles where everything is
pretty muched tilled. The CRP dont pay as good as the price
of grain now days. My uncle is a auctioneer in north central IA
yet & told me the 2nd week of Dec about the land price. I
found the 20g in Iowa but cant find the 14500 one in MN anymore. It was around Worthington or Windom though. The
dummys. I used to go out back door & shoot pheasants in our
little grove. The 70s were hard on them & I didnt even go back
last fall hunting.No birds around. We would have had a century if my brother hadnt got killed in farm accident. I dont
think there is a small farm anymore. The guys I know are farming from 5 thousand acers to 15 thousand acers. If you
took there subsidies away you would here some screaming.
lil_cowgirl
I am not sure why people would look at you funny for watching over your pet. When you love your pet that is what you do. There are good pet owners like you and there are poor pet owners. We have to be cognizant of our surroundings and not venture into areas that are out of our realm and or out of our ability to maintain the safe zone.
I agree 100% that the dog died a terrible death. That dog did not deserve to die the way it did.
Discover the forest
It's not that far! But becareful of "Grizzly Adams" want- to- be, and gun toting crackpots. Lil cowgirl, you should be commended on taking care of your pet the way you do, but there will always be some twit out there who will always make excuses and justifications for the right to kill anything!
pd
Used to like you. So what street was it ya grew up on???
Lake or hennepin?? Gun toting crackpot REALLY
who yoo calling
that farm gurl? never toted a gun in my life.
Jo
You strike me as a person that would carry 2 just in case 1 dont
work.
IDWD
I tryed to answer you yesterday but must have goofed & it didnt show up.
I didnt say small farms & dont know to many that farm under a 1000 acers anymore. You have to go 150+ mi west of WI border
where there aint much habitat left. CRP dont pay as good as corn or soybeans. Most of guys I know farm 5-15 thousand acers. Nothing like it was when I lived there. We would of had a century if brother hadnt got killed in farm accident. Still in family but not blood farming it. I dont know how to post links but my uncle in north central IA told me about price/acre the 2nd week of Dec. He is an auctioneer. I can find the 20gs an acre in NW IA but cant find the one in SW MN anymore. It was 14500 an acre & was by windom
or worthington somewhere. Just plain nuts! They are making a lot of glue but if ya took there subsidies away you would hear some
screaming.
IDWD
I might have misunderstood my uncle. I found a piece where somebody paid over 12g an acre so it must have been 12500
instead of 14500. Sorry & it was by Worthington.
oldfarmboy
I apologize about the "gun-totin crackpots. I was not refering to hunters in general but someone who would use a gun on another as a weapon because he sprung his trap. Using a gun in the woods to legally hunt, I have no problem with; it is the ones who want to be Mr. Macho that worry me!
see farm gurl
i scare him. little ole mammy scears a georgia boy!
jo
I think you are trying to fool us with your illiterate posts. On another post you noted that you went to college. So fess up. Your reply to eyolf was quite interesting.
college
of hard knocks, life.
c
.da
pdnet15
If you leave your vehicle running and someone that you do not know jumps in it, do you have the right to use force to get them out?
If a rancher is bringing a load of cattle to market and someone opens the gate to take one of the cattle do you have a right to use force to stop them?
45v
I said I would shoot a wolf if it was attacking my dog, despite what some have said on this board, it is legal to shoot a wolf threatening a domestic animal. Whether you are pointing a gun at me or I have a 40lb Bobcat above me in a tree I am not worried...My 120lb Chesapeake doesnt like Bobcats or Hillbillie trappers that point guns at people, I would defer to him.