The farm is, they want to certify the trappers not the furs. Actually they want us to say yes to all their questions and sign off that we are liars claiming to adhere to AHITS.
If all they wanted is tracabilty of the fur, it is there through our licenses. If all they want is certification that the fur is traceable the secretary of their main office can do that.

And when I have done all that and perjured myself they will still not buy my possums at a fair price.

Those within the marketing end of the fur industry have been pushing for this for decades. The real down to earth problem with certification is that it will mean more regulation in the future, just ask those within the fishing industry. Trappers are the most regulated outdoor activity on earth, so why would anyone wish to submit themselves to the possibility of more ? We as trappers have already implemented trapper education as a requirement for licensing in several states, and most trapping associations within the US have a working relationship with their respected DNR's, or depts. of conservation & wildlife, and because of those relationships several regulations in place already have been a group effort for the benefit of trapping, and furbearers. Now you ask someone within marketing to come up with an idea, and the answer they come up with is to open the door to more regulation, wow.


If you want more regulation in the future, and someone that has no idea about trapping to have even more say on how you conduct your operation in the future, then I guess certification is the ideal fit for you. I would much rather have the input from professional wildlife experts that work within the state I live, and manage the recourse in conjunction with the help of the trappers within my state, for the benefit of trappers, and the resource. I don't need the help of the marketing department of any company to help in those regards, thank you.

I also think with all the efforts put forth by all the trapping association across the country over the years, and the hard work that has been put forth in regards to educating trappers, and working to improve how trappers conduct themselves afield, and the overall image of trapping as a whole, well to have a major marketing firm that trappers trusted, and relied upon to market their goods to implement such an idea is nothing short of a complete insult.


RTT

Going to take more than a pretty sticker.

That's the only kind I buy.The uncertified stuff is full of chemicals.

Your the only thing full of chemicals. LOL

75% 0f the worlds tuna producers are certified under the ISSF.

There is more to trapping than just selling fur !!


RTT

You Can Kiss My Scots-Irish Arse, BOCO!!!!

American Free Trappers will never Bow Down to your Socialist/Globalist Wild Fur Trapping Schemes.

w

83%* of Beer Judges are certified under BJCP









*Okay, I made up the 83% part....

Give it up guys, just put your name on the dotted line and answer all questions.What the heck difference does it make? Your trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. just be glad things never got as bad as the Europeans wanted it to be. This whole thing has been in the works for I think over 20 years. You think it is bad being a trapper and having to jump through hoops do ya? You should try being a Ginseng buyer or even a fur buyer and have to deal with all the crap that we go through to even be able to buy Ginseng and to a lesser degree being a fur buyer. Just to buy Ginseng you got to keep a complete log of every transaction you make. This includes names, addresses, counties,and amounts dug in each county. To ship out of state and over seas, you must have what boils down to a trace ability certification paper. Then you must have your export permits and before each barrel of seng leaves the country it must be inspected by a federal inspector to make sure you have all legal roots.
This kind of stuff is enough to make you pull your hair out. But like trapping, you will learn to do what each and every company wants you to do so things can be traced back to the point of origin. The old days are gone, the new era is upon us and if you want to play, you will learn to do what you are told to do. All the complain is not going to change a thing and you will have to comply if you wish to sell fur.

Mainer, you said very nicely what I was too lazy to tap out on the iPad. Don, I’ve always respected what you have to say and you’re much more in the know on the industry than I will ever be. Speaking just for me, I’m too old and stubborn and don’t rely on my fur check, never have, for my livelihood,to give in to what I see the same as Mainer. I was of the same opinion when the Europeans tried a very similar ploy 30 years ago. I’m just of the opinion that as American Trappers it is no other countries business what tools we use and need to effectively manage our wildlife populations in our country. I just simply see this as a back door ploy to herd us into what other countries think we should be. Right now is the prime time to strike for them while fur is dirt cheap to get more consensus of compliance. I’m afraid long term once this compliance is locked in we’ll be sorry that we ever took the bait.

No fur market now to speak of. I fail to see the carrot. When cites for bobcats started cats had gotten very valuable over night.

I think we should have seen what the future held when the BMP's came in 30 yrs.ago.,instead most seem to regard it as a "we sure dodged that bullet".The issue is not if the fur was caught legally,the issue is HOW it was caught.No state held the BMP's as mandatory,I don't think it was taken seriously by too many once we thought we were passed it.Well,its back and its here and its not going to go away.If we were smart we'd get active now and get involved in the process,better to be proactive instead of reactive.Take all 49 states that have trappers,add up all the licenses sold then add up the total memberships of our assoc's.Pitiful.

I ask trappers do you like the idea of even more restricted seasons ?? How about the possibility of quotas ?? maybe your trapping license will become like many other permits under so called certified programs, and be sold to the highest bidder, thus shutting the little trapper out all together ?? The possibilities are endless for the amount of control trapping could be facing under a program like this, and all brought forward by someone within our own industry that has been entrusted to market goods for trappers for a very long time, shameless. The large producers see no harm, because like in most programs setup this way the large producers seem to get even bigger, with more control in some way like via permits, or quota's, or maybe more input into the regulatory process, and of course marketing. Trappers at some point will get squeezed, and trapping as we know of now will be a long and forgotten thing. No thank you NAFA, Canadian Goose, or any other fur company, or auction house that requires me to sign onboard with such a socialist idea, that in the long run will only limit the ability of trapping in the future. Please keep your pieces of silver, and I wont sell out my fellow trapper.



RTT

Remember people, the thing that makes this country great is the very fact that we are different than everyone else !!!

I was told repeatedly bmp was a good thing. So when do we see the benefits? Where are all the trappers that told me on this very site I should get behind it?

Again, where is the carrot for traceability????? Fur market is in the toilet anyway.

Danny, things like this always seem to come to light in times of a distressed market, not the first time this has come up. What ever carrot there might be now at some point will be withdrawn, and trappers will only face a more restrictive environment than they already have.


RTT

Danny, many in the leadership positions within the trapping associations across this country knew very well the dangers of BMP's, and how they might be used against us down the road. They could of also allowed traps back into certain states, but we also knew that was never going to happen, because of the political environments within those states were not going to allow it to happen. long and short we knew it was going to come back and haunt trapping.


RTT

I fail to see how the traceability is going to lead to more restrictive seasons and or quotas.It doesn't have anything to do with that.Its all about the laws and reg's on how it was caught.The tools used to capture it.How to do this is an interesting question given the size of this country with every state having its own game dept.Thats why trappers need to get involved now before it all gets off the ground,afterward is often too late.The BMP's were a very good idea,if you think things in the market are bad now if the BMP idea hadn't been enacted we not only would have had to deal with the supply and demand downturn but also the European Union's headquarters in Brussels.That deal gave us 30 yrs.breathing room.Face it,there is no market in this country now.Its all overseas.Some of our fur using countries don't belong to the EU but are influenced by it,particularly when it comes to items they could be critsized over like fur.If you think alternative markets like the Mountain Man trade is going to save the trade in the U.S.you're not dealing with reality.The fur trade is where it is at and we'd better get involved.

So you recommend we all lie about that dozen questions and then sign an affidavit that it's true we trap according to AHITS and the Provincial Council? And swear that we use killing traps that are against the law to use?