At a FTA convention back in the late 1990's it was in Cookeville, TN it was unbelievably hot and humid when about a dozen antis showed up and started chanting and holding signs. After a couple hours I knew they had to be dying out there in the heat and humidity, so me and another guy bought a dozen ice cold cokes at the concession stand and took them out to the protesters. They eagerly took the cold pop and gulped it down except for one woman who was the leader. She was (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) at us and kept letting us know it, and she tried to get the others from taking the cokes from us. Turns out she was the only anti there, she was part of an anti organization and she had hired the rest of them, they were college students from a local college. Maybe they figured out we weren't all heartless ogres after all.

Yup, several times, 20-35 years ago

Trapping a public marsh for muskrats had a homeowner come down to the waters edge and take photos of me and my boat with a telephoto lensed camera. She never said a word. I was miffed as my hair looked like Trapper Les' hair that morning!

Chris

she thought ya was a swamp monster if your hair looked that bad.

It ended all possibility of a date for sure!

Chris

I get it all the time on instagram. The best is when they say I kill animals as an out for my psychopatic serial killer desires and then follow up saying they hope I have to watch my entire family die a slow and painful death only to be tortured and killed after. I guess that is less psychopathic then being a trapper and hunter haha.

I have trapped rats in a state park lake that had a bicycle trail running along the shoreline. I’d try to run my traps early, but still had a half dozen joggers- dog walkers berate me.....all were women. I had one lady follow me for several sets, I took her into the swamp and she finally turned around. Trapping was legal, but even the state park rangers try to discourage you from legally trapping.

The worst harassment I ever encountered was when I was picking huckleberries in a state forest. An older couple came trotting down a logging road, and told me I couldn’t pick berries there. They said they fertilized and limed this area, and I had to leave at once. I thanked them for all their efforts but I was gonna pick till my buckets were full. They stuck around, went and got couple of German Shepards from their camp. This nonsense went on for nearly 2 hours, until I had my 10 quarts.

Yes I remember being at a Trappers convention put on by Neil Olsen in Hughsville PA .,sometime during the 1980's There was a group outside the main gate carrying signs and yelling at all of us trappers that went to observe what a complete fool looked like . And I once worked with a guy that would always make comments about me shooting Bambi or Rudolph if I talked about hunting .One day during lunch he said something and I replied that I noticed he was eating a hamburger .He sid so what ? I said the only difference between him and I was he got someone to take care of his dirty work while I was out killing my own dinner . He did not reply .But later in private he said he often hassled me about hunting and I never gave him a bad time about it .Than said he had never though about what I said He actually apologized for his prior remarks . And another time at an outdoor show a woman told me they should outlaw trapping and how terrible it was that people wear fur just for looks . I ask her if she understood that in many parts of the world fur was used to keep warm and not a fashion statement .She was making other comments and I kept refuting her arguments . Other people could hear the conversation .I just stayed cool and level headed and she was getting mad because she did not have anything that was factual on her side .She finally walked away

Yeah, years ago I was hunting during the early bear season in the High Peaks area of NY’s Adirondack Mountains, near Lake Placid. On the backpack trip out I met some old spandex clad granola crunching hag. When she saw that I was carrying a rifle, she seemed very surprised, she ask me, “when did they start allowing hunters in the High Peaks ?” I never broke stride , but replied, “ this is a state park not a national park, and hunters have been coming here long before any of you hikers. “ She did not have a reply.


I would not hunt there today because the high peaks area is filled to capacity with granola crunching anti’s, to the point that they are degrading the trails and causing erosion of the fragile soils above tree line. In the future they may have to get a permit just to hike there.

i was at Hughsville,thats where they were hoppin around in bunny costumes.guys were on the other side of the big fence laughin at em goin-rabbit season--no its duck season.only one asked to leave was the prostitute in the mens room.

But if you do....WATCH OUT. They're the really dangerous ones.

I've been harassed by some dingaling gal that would get in my face every chance she got to tell me "She does her hunting in a grocery store". I would ask, "But you DO eat meat?" that would shut her up till next time.

Not exactly harrassed but I did have a run in with a tree hugger lady last fall. Township had hired me to trap beavers that kept plugging the culvert and flooding roads. I had just finished setting traps when she pulled up in her suburu wagon. She got out and proceeded to start cleaning the culvert out. She asked if I was there to help her and I said, sure I'll help you. As we worked she went on and on about how much she hates the town guy because he has the beavers killed when they create problems. I asked her what the better solution was and almost laughed out loud at her response. She suggested the township build large portable bridges 100-200 yards long. When beavers take over, the township could move the bridge in right over top of the colony and let them be. I asked her who would pay for these bridges? She replied the townships have plenty of money for such things. Unreal how the mind's of these people work.

I have only had one person voice their opinion about the ugliness of trapping while wearing my muskrat trooper hat,

I have given several presentations at groups and all went well. I gave a presentation at a large conservation event several years ago and there was a reporter there that wrote an good article about my presentation and it circulated out to about 20K or so. I got about a half dozen anonymous letters etc. that were negative about me and trapping. I could tell that some knew me from other events etc. A couple were really downright bad so I showed them to the local sheriff's office. They stated there was nothing there that constituted a threat etc. One could say that being anonymous "who cares" but they know who you are, where you live and your family so that is scary in its own way.

Bryce

Anti trappers online and on the line.

I can't recall of ever being harassed by an anti, I once took one on my trapline and converted him.

Not for trapping but used to catch an earful from my own cousins for coyote calling. I eventually just cut them off completely rather than keep going round and round with them. One of them, after several years, kind of tried to resume a normal relationship. She no longer talks about the subject with me. The rest of them, relatives or not, can drink pee for all I care.

Yes...SSS.

Yes I have. About a year and a half ago. I dispatched a beaver in a snare and all heck broke loose. Someone came running out of the business (the owner had given me permission to use the property to get to the beavers) and proceeded to be very confrontational. I ended up backing them off and the cops were called. I went home as free man and a beaver in the truck. The owner apologized for his employees behavior. Sarge

A couple.times.when dog walkers dog found trap.

Yep but it never last long once you make them look stupid they find dumber things to do after that!