Wolf trapping..

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ratherbefishin

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I just watched a u tube of some wolf trapping....pretty impressive.These are very wily,savy animals and trapping is likely the most effective way to harvest them( other than poison,which is legitimate when neccesary) Whereas coyote hunting is pretty common as they will come to a call, wolves seem to be a lot harder to hunt.
Funny,100 years ago anybody trapping wolves would be a hero, today today they would get death threats....but with the moose numbers plummeting,it seems to me that preditor control just makes sense,people don't mind to seeing moose and deer pulled down and ripped apart ( that's 'natural') but kill a wolf and child abuse pales by comparison...how do we encourage more wolf trapping?
 
how do we encourage more wolf trapping?
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Put a thousand dollar bounty on them. If that doesn't work, raise it. People respond to incentives, and dislike losing money.

Wolf trappers seem to fit into two types.

Guys who are playing, either because they really want to as a sport or because they are there anyway.

Hardcore.
 
Due to political correctness,I can't see the government initiating a wold cull, even when the evidence proves we need it to preserve moose and caribou pollutions ( wolves decimated the deer on Vancouver island and it took close to 30 years for them to even start to recover) So that pretty much leaves it up to individuals, and since wolves are heard far more than seen, trapping seems to be the best option,but even that is a dedicated skill,they aren't like coyotes that come to a call easily ...Hopefuly fur prices will provide some incentive and wolf populations seem to be on the increase and in rural areas where they aren't hunted,they are getting more bold about approaching built up areas
 
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Alberta government is poisoning them in northern Alberta. They're shooting moose for bait , to save the caribou. :confused: Government logic for you, I guess. We had a couple of Golden Eagles and cougars caught in wolf snares here recently. quite the ruckus.

Grizz
 
They do a wolf cull in the Yukon to keep the moose populations from being decimated ,but the political mindset is diferent than in BC as Moose meat is seen as an essential part of subsistence .Politics have no place in game management and frankly I couldn't care less if the protestors stripped naked and marched down to the legislature buildings wearing nothing but earnest smiles and body paint,it's just a sign of how out of touch with reality city people have become with their 'protests' over rabbits,deer, wolves,whatever...I will defend their right to be heard if they defend my right not to listen ....
 
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well I do have my trapping licence but I don't have a trap line. You don't get many calls to trap "nuisance" wolves.

people in that situation just shoot them when they see them.



when hunting I will try to shoot every wolf I see.
 
woodchopper said:
well I do have my trapping licence but I don't have a trap line. You don't get many calls to trap "nuisance" wolves.

people in that situation just shoot them when they see them.



when hunting I will try to shoot every wolf I see.
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When you can't hunt anything else, wolves are usually open and great quarry to boot. :)

Grizz
 
I'm getting more into wolf trapping every year on my line. Did some good work on some snare corrals during the fall season. Oddly enough the wolves ####ed off as soon as season stated and after seeing plenty of tracks around the line preseason I saw none while running the line. Wanna blame the absence of wolf on my line on the wacky weather. Anyways plan to continue to keep up the pressure and also increase the pressure. Will be up on the line first week of May setting up for bear so will continue working on my corrals amongst other never ending trapline work.
 
I've snared a fair amount here in Manitoba. Shot a lot of mangy ones as well that have wandered into the farm yard. Never called them as the wolves here have a big loop they cover. Used to only move threw once a week. Deer numbers are low in my area so wolves aren't as close anymore.
 
To me,wolf trapping is the biggest thing we can do to counteract declining moose/deer/ caribou populations.Governments will 'study' the problem down to the last moose,but we can actually DO something ...no 'study' required...maybe fish and game clubs could put on wolf trapping seminars to educate hunters how to trap wolves...
 
ratherbefishin said:
To me,wolf trapping is the biggest thing we can do to counteract declining moose/deer/ caribou populations.
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Wolves aren't the problem in all areas.There are other factors such as over-harvesting by hunters that need to be addressed also. Wolves have their place and certainly don't need to be exterminated, but I agree their numbers need to be kept in check, through whatever method that may be. I've shot a fair number of them over the years but don't subscribe to "the only good wolf is a dead wolf" mentality.
 
woodchopper said:
well I do have my trapping licence but I don't have a trap line. You don't get many calls to trap "nuisance" wolves.

people in that situation just shoot them when they see them.



when hunting I will try to shoot every wolf I see.
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Call around ask the guiding outfits meny pay a bounty to have a trapper thin the wolf out a bit and pay out of ther own pocket same with sum farmers you have to be proactive traplines are way to much money in Alberta
 
I am certainly not advocating exterminating wolves,but when the numbers exceed the usual population and deer/moose/ caribou numbers collapse,then 'leaving if to nature' is not a wise option.we 'left it to nature' on Vancouver Island and 'nature' took 30 years to even partially restore excessive wolf predation on the deer which were virtually wiped right out in many watersheds.This was not readily recognised by non hunters as the deer population in town exploded .I totally recognise the prey /predator relationship,when in balance.Hunting only accounts for about 15% mortality ,so whether we hunt or not has very little impact on the species,predation,habitat, climate, disease , road/rail kill etc has a vastly higher impact
 
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Saskatchewan is a strange case with the wolves. The province is divided into a southern fur management zone, and the northern fur conservation block. The north is divided up into registered traplines, and nobody else is allowed to take any fur animals. The trouble is, trapping hasn't been a viable reliable business in decades, and basically the trappers aren't doing their job of controlling wolf numbers. I say their job because as far as I'm concerned the exclusive right to take wolves should come with the responsibility to actually do it or lose it. Most of the trappers only hold their lines for the cabin leases that come with them. Enforcement is practically unheard of.

In the south where anyone with a fur licence can trap or snare wolves there basically aren't any meaningful numbers. There are exceptions of course, one of my farms is right on the edge. Trouble is the edge is the edge of a national park where there is no control at all. That's even worse than under trapped traplines. It does make a nice reservoir of to refill my place though.
 
Wolf populations can undergo some dramatic shifts...on VI the general consensus was there were no wolves...but sometime in the early 70's the wolf population exploded to an estimated 1000 animals and virtually wiped out up to 90% of the deer...Fish and Game associations and biologists tried to get the government to implement a wolf cull, but the political backlash was so great they just let 'nature' take care of it... Watersheds that once supported healthy deer populations were deviated,not even tracks were seen..the same scenario seems to be playing out in the moose populations...and while habitat is most certainly a factor,the wolves are making serious impacts and the government is ignoring it...hunters,now only 30% of what they were simply don't have the votes to count,yuppies are well organized and do....when's the last time you saw a billboard promoting hunting and trapping ?
 
In Ontario there is no quota on wolves, so registered trapline holders can trap as many as they want, or none. All of the trapline holders I know don't bother with them. They are big, stink, tough to trap and tough to process. Other critters like marten are easier to trap, handle and worth more money considering the effort involved.

I did mostly private land trapping and I snagged 3 of them over my 8 years up north. Price ranged from $35 to $125, I did mine just for trim grade, not taxidermy.
 
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