Is trapping a sport?

Just curious what you consider this activity.

I recently read the results of a large national survey about the public's attitude towards trapping.

People were asked if they had positive or negative views of different sub-categories of trapping. Subsistence and ADC trapping had the highest marks (over 60% favorable), coming in second to lowest was commercial trapping, and lowest of all, sport trapping with under 30% favorable.

I've posted these surveys before. Usually a thread killer here in hobby land.

I guess if you kill fur for fun and throw it away its a sport.
As soon as you sell what you catch for a monetary income,it is commercial.

Is hunting or fishing a sport?I don`t think so but that`s just me.

Not a sport. Dabbling in it may appear “sport-ish” but it hones the craft, like going to the range. Trapping is a job and it’s one that can be done as an individual.

It is now!

It’s a way of life.

It was always an outdoor sport to me. I sold what I trapped. Same with deer hunting. I don’t have to hunt to feed my family, yet we eat 5-6 deer every year and we look forward to having it in the freezer.

I think it is a art! There are so many facets in being a good trapper. There are many ways you can set a trap for the same type of animal. You do not make a set for a cat the same way you would a raccoon. It become a passion to some. JMO

We have this gubmint organization called the Internal Revenue Service. In thier opinion if you sell stuff and don't make a profit it is called a hobby. It is not monetary income, if you lose money.

P.S. The general public disaproves of hobby (for recreation) trapping.

X2

Its a part of me.... More than a Lifestyle, part of who I am

No way I'd call it a sport for me. Then again, hunting and fishing aren't sports for me either.

In some, it’s the instinctive human challenge of reinforcing self intellectual superiority over their environment. It is “the thrill of the hunt” and not necessarily the final termination of the quarry. What say ye old married men? HA!

I definitely would not call trapping a sport. I also don’t think fishing or hunting is a sport either.

Hard no.

[sports] grown men running around the cow pasture chasing a rubber ball. no thanks give me trapping /hunting /fishing.

Well said.

Trapping is trapping, not a sport, not a hobby(even if you're a short liner), it is something only understood if you trap. JMO

In general, no. Could it be, yes. However, I'm not in a competition within any other trapper.

ol'dad

No, neither is hunting. they're not sports because they are not competitions. sports do not involve life and death. I absolutely despise when people within the "outdoor "community call it "sport hunting"

No

It’s a job. Period. If you look at it any other way it’s a hobby.

It’s a part time job in wildlife management.

In a sense, trapping is a "competition" between you and the quarry. . . . and yes, many "sports" involve life and death. . . . but I understand what you're trying to say :-)

IMO trapping is a commercial activity, be it profitable or not, and should always be referred to as such. A "SPORT" is a desirable but unnecessary activity, whereas trapping is necessary for the following reasons:

1) It’s an activity providing seasonal income, food and clothing for many people.

2) It’s a necessary wildlife management activity to:
- control the spread of dangerous diseases carried by many furbearers.
- protect agricultural livestock and crops from animal damage.
- control beaver flooding of road systems and developed lands.

3) It’s a necessary activity for the capture and relocation of endangered species

I like this answer

By your definitions, hunting is a commercial activity then:

A lot of people live in the concrete jungle and they're constantly bombarded with stories about how the planet ain't likely to make it. It comes as no surprise when they think hunting and trapping are pushing us closer to the brink.

You would absolutely be amazed how many GW's came out of the "concrete jungle" got hired, never fished, hunted, trapped, or had any wildlife experience and don't have a clue!!!

Not a sport for me. My only contribution to society --- getting rid of invasives and nuisance animals. You could call it a hobby (only one that I have that is self sustaining) , but that doesn't really fit either. It is definiltelty not a sport (football) . I like to think of it as my duty -- good management -- my responsibility on the ground that I come in contact with. A balance between farming practices and good ecosystem practices, and a balance between eco terrorism and reality.

Game wardens?

Trapping is an activity. Period. Never was a sport!

Not a sport....it can be a recreational activity....just like hunting.

It can also be a commercial activity if you sell your catch...just like a commercial fisherman.

Trapping is also vital to wildlife management, ie damage control.

Yes, Game Wardens!

I agree with many of you. I've always considered myself a farmer and a trapper. Both time honored occupations.

Sport No!

Job, management tool, recreational activity, hobby, any and all of those yes.

Let’s spin the optics maybe as researchers and historical advocate. And the few $$ allows for the next years research. If y’all actually counted the billable hours it takes to gain the data that is passed on the fed and state game departments I’m sure it would be in the millions.

So maybe it’s part wildlife research conservationist and part historical advocate.

At least that’s how I tell it to who asks.

Not a sport, a heritage. My great grandfather trapped through the depression in the hills of Kentucky to survive. His father before him trapped, as did his son.
They knew even then it was beneficial to the wildlife.

I believe the last sentence is true. No need to feed the anti's

Who do you figure sportsmen organizations represent? Off to Sportsmen's Warehouse to find a football tommorow.

I used to love to watch The American Sportsmen with Curt Gowdy. Luckily it was not a sport.

Nope, same as hunting.
Aint a sport.

Hey Dirt, let me know if they have any croquet sets on sale while you're there please :-))))))))

Are those behind the bullets or the arrows?

Next to the volley balls, and the hockey pucks ;-)

Trust me I wouldn't be surprised --- I call them educated idiots.

As trappers we should pick up quickly on the fact that ADC work or animal control is a very favorable aspect of trapping. We can use the natural resource science and biology staff persons to help and assist in enlarging that message. After all take a state like WI where we open coon ( and I use coon as they are common and also interact negatively a lot with the public) that season about 3-4 weeks before the most of the animals have very limited value in the current market. So in reality if I trap coon in WI early I am doing ADC work for the tax payers of WI at no tax payer cost with limited to no return on my time and resources. We have not been doing a good job of promoting that aspect. We typically as trappers argue about the price of fur and or gas and why we don' t harvest and the number of unskilled and un trained and unlicensed citizens who harvest these animals and in many cases in very inhumane ways.

Bryce

I cant make money fishing, folks don’t make money golfing....I love to trap, so why do need to make a profit.

I’m trapping beaver now...no possible way can I recover my expenses. Who cares...it’s what I like to do.

Well said. That’s me in a nutshell

Trapping is a conservation tool for me. I do not sell, but keep my pelts for our own use, including making clothing and displays. Everywhere I trap, ground nesting birds are doing great. Grouse, turkeys, whippoorwills, other songbirds have space to raise a brood or two without each clutch being eaten by a raccoon, possum, skunk, fox etc. All the little nest raiding predators are overpopulating because human residential development is creating perfect habitat for predators to grow, without fear of being hunted or trapped. The safety zones are too big and the critters fear nothing but being hit by a car on the road. These artificially high populations pulse out into the undeveloped areas and upset any semblance of natural balance. Birds that under normal conditions might lose an egg or a clutch but then go back to successful nesting are now driven off of every nest they make. Trapping is the only way to save these birds. And so absolutely no legal animal caught in one of my traps is left alive.

no , it's a job , wild life renewable resource, manger ,

Beaver feeds a lot here, and I buy less dogfood

You can live without a sport but you can't live without meat fish and something to keep you warm in.
You can write a book that says the art of fishing the art of hunting probably even the art of trapping.
That word art along with the word sport don't reflect the real reason people do any of the three activities I mentioned.
But when you dumb down the title and call it sport or art it's easy to Rally people behind the movements to stop these activities. To me fishing hunting and trapping are a way of life in some degree in my everyday life. You try to take them away and you are taking my lifestyle away which is a little different than taking a sport away from me or some art away from me. Watching TV is a non-essential activity in fact I don't even own a TV but try taking away somebody's TV without them wanting to give it up.

Agreed I like your style .....awesome

If you have a small farm and need liability insurance you will likely see the word hobby farm pop up. I'm doubtful they consider the percent of your income taken in but more likely the size of the land holdings. But I could be wrong.

A sport refers to competition, wnners and losers, etc.. The only sport I can see related to hunting, fishing and trapping is competitive bass fishing, which I think is about as interesting as watching paint dry, and I suppose now with the whitetail craze and these idiotic canned hunts and stuff like that there has become a sporting issue related to some types of hunting, if you can really call it hunting.
So, no, trapping is not a sport.

I would classify it as a "Sacred Heritage."

I think when the term "sport trapping" is used it sounds to the uninformed public that we kill animals just for the fun of it. Not using the fur,bones,and meat or managing the land against disease from overpopulation. Or the flooding of farm land by beavers etc.. The term to some has a negative connotation putting us in a bad light. To some of us it's a way of life, to others a job and some a hobby with benefits.

If none of those activities is a sport, why do people keep score? I caught so many of these. Is this a record? The antlers scored this many points. My fish is a new record. Seems awful competitive for people?

Some people.Its heritage,way of life and a right to me

That's why I don't care for record books at all. I don't care how many inches a deer is.

x2- you would have to be one (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) of a hand to make a living at it with these prices

True sport fishing and hunting go back to the lords of England and sport trapping is a new thing that happened in America somewhere after world war II. There really is a short history of sport trappers. Low prices make more everyday though.

What's your definition of sport?

A physical activity done for recreation.

This is an excellent point. Trappers save the public money and aggravation in so many ways

I could be wrong but wasn't Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young originally organized as a means for wildlife management?

Ol'dad

Prostitution?

Ol daf

No those girls are making a profit.