I am a member of two groups that have been at odds for centuries. The trapper and the houndsman.
Do you feel the same way, Matt, about houndsmen? Because many times down here a farmer will call up a houndsman to kill the coon in his sweetcorn, for free... when if there were no houndsmen he would have to pay a trapper to do it, right?
Many times, houndsmen have actively worked to outlaw or restrict trapping. Michigan and Alabama are two states that come to mind in that regard but you're likely not old enough to remember it. I am friends on Facebook with over 100 hound hunters, and a couple dozen in real life. None of them have made negative comments about trapping to me, and many of them have commented on my trapping posts in a positive manner. I am friends with several of the movers and shakers in the MS coon hunting community and I'm pretty certain that if trapping was under attack in this state they would stand by us, just because they know me.
But maybe I'd have been better off to come in guns ablazing trying to ban coon hunting so I could get a few more paid coon jobs?
So raccoons and coyotes are very different and I think you know that. I actually view 3 groups of houndsmen as allies, and that are bear hounds, cougar hounds and if you wanted to coon hounds. There has always been animosity, but I think it's more a matter of logistics and not having designated areas and times for the hounds man to do their thing. I have gone to bat for some of the biggest bear hound groups publicly and privately and have spoken a great deal about the friction between them and us and to come up with ways that would help prevent any problems.
In terms of paying somebody what if one group didn't exist, I have no idea about any of that. However if trappers had built a living and had been doing predator raccoon removal and charging for it, I'm sure not going to let any thermal hunters or any other group come in and try to get some of the pie. There is a huge difference in bear hounds and thermal hunters, because one involves something that is rooted in tradition, history and legend and has plenty of fair chase(for those 3 groups only, but squirrel hounds are just as welcome) and never really takes away from a trapper. Thermal hunters are quite differently, I don't have any animosity towards them some of my best friends in real life are die hard thermal hunters, but there are plenty of posts on here and real life conversations with trappers that tell me of thermal hunters pushing them out from farms that they used to be able to trap. Not only did they lose the money, but now they lost a trapping spot because the thermal hunters didn't want the trapper there.
It's a very apples to oranges attempt to make a comparison in terms of a completely different animal and that there aren't slews of trappers that are getting pushed out by coon hounds. Houndsmen are important to conservation, just like trappers, but if you force me to pick it's going to trappers all day every day, especially on a trapping forum.
You didn't go through the fur boom in the 70's early 80's.
I had woodchuck hunters shoot and take fox from a trap , lost 42 traps and many fox and coon in one night from coon hunters.
On 11 different farms 6 in one block the rest a farm or two per block.
I don't have a problem with thermo hunting coyotes ,it's not much different than night hunting with spot lights. Except you better make sure of the target.
Hunting is hunting , trapping is trapping that is just a form of hunting.
Same with guiding hunters , the guide does the hunting the customer does the shooting.
Only problem I have is when greed becomes a driving force,
Be it politics or anything else.
You cheat to get ahead , then it becomes a problem.
Same with hunters having no idea what it takes to trap , or how it works.
They hear a story about a dog caught in a body grip trap they become anti trappers.
Weather it was true or not.
A 110 body grip is little threat to a dog , yet many times hunters refused permission to trap muskrats because I used body grips along with other traps.
Ignorance of each others sport has much to do with it.
You can take your unions and shove them, because they're not for the worker any more.
They've become political , and back democrats the most socialist corrupt party ever!
Tried coon hunting with what I thought was a friend.
Killed over the limit of coon on my dad's farm , and took them all for himself.
Then since he had permission one time , hunted our farm when ever he wanted.
He flat out told me if he finds a trap it's gone and anything in it.
His own family won't allow him to hunt their property.
Yes there's always a few that ruin it for everybody.
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