Lets step into the reality of the situation for a second.
Democrats, many who are not trapping friendly control MN
A dog death is a huge emotionally charged issue. A dead dog in a a 220 or snare in a ROW or on Public land is a major problem.
Outdoorsmen are a minority of the population in this state.
Trappers are a tiny minority of Outdoorsmen.
Trapping is not economically or socially important to 99+% of the states population.
As trappers we need all the support we can get, bird hunters, small game hunters, should be natural allies. In many cases those who hunt with dogs are not allies of trappers because of the threat to the dogs. Dogs are often considered part of the family, there is extreme emotional attachment to dogs. Economically most people likely have 10x more invested into their dog than the average trapper makes on a yearly fur check.
It may sound good to say "don't give an inch" and "go on the offensive" but if you go on the offensive you will be running into a machine gun nest. If you don't give an inch you may be bombed out of your position with nothing to fall back to.
I don't think we should give up any tools on Private land. Private land and the ability to use a full arsenal of tools should be highly protected. We should also strive towards 0 dog deaths on both Private and Public land. On Private that can be done by being cautious and smart. On Public that may mean limiting a couple traps to reduce conflicts.
I may be wrong, maybe giving up a couple tools on Public land is a bad idea and lead to a slippery slope, I don't think I am but I may be. However think its far more likely we lose massive ground in trapping because someone will have pictures or videos of their dog in a snare or coni which will result in a legislative or massive ballot measure loss of trapping, including footholds.
