Trappers' livelihood defended

Page 6

I have been silent too long: I can be silent no longer. I am referring to those who assault the livelihood of trappers and who charge that "inhumane" trapping methods are practiced by Canada's 100,000 trappers of which at least 50 per cent are Native people.

Lately, the daily newspapers have carried numerous articles and letters to the editor from bleeding hearts who purport that trapping is cruel and unnecessary activity.

First of all, the whiners, by and large, likely have little knowledge of how, why and what is involved. Better still, how many of those complainers could possibly admit to having every been on a trapline? How many have ever had the occasion to live under the same or similar circumstances that northern Natives do in their pursuit of a legitimate occupation? If they have not, and I am almost certain that such is the case, they ought to. Soon enough, they would change their tune.

One must remember as well that it was the European invader who created the heavy demand for furs. The first victims to be almost totally annihilated were the beaver and the buffalo and it was all in the name of industry and commerce. Trade companies like the Hudson's Bay thrived on the fur industry and are still actively engaged in that pursuit today.

Not to be ignored is the wanton massacre of wildlife by sportsmen and trophy hunters who deplete wild game for reasons other than survival. Where are the attacks on these individuals? Besides, trappers are also conservationists. The last thing that they would ever want to do is to overtrap their lines. It is, after all, in their own interests to not overtrap for the sake of the future.

Obviously, the self-proclaimed protectors of the animal world have much to learn about the real world. Part of that reality is enshrined in the fact that Native people have a right to exist and if it means at the expense of animal life and a little suffering, so be it. As for the dispute over humane trapping methods, it is high time that the narrow-minded cast off the cloak of their tunnel vision and put things into proper perspective which means looking at life on a more global plane. We all experience some degree of suffering whether it is in relation to human or animal life.

Man as well as animal falls victim to the inhumanity and indignity of man. In our society, we humans have ourselves become "trapped" in the wretched reality of bureaucraticization, taxes, poverty and the like. If the diehard animal lovers are so insistent about jumping on the band wagon to attack those who kill or and danger wildlife, they had best get their priorities straight. Since when has the plight of human life been superseded by that of the animal kingdom? While these bleeding hearts and do-gooders rant and rave over alleged inhumane trapping methods and the assumed unnecessary taking of fur bearing animals, the dominant society continues on its own collision course with doom.

It is fact that humans are killing humans each and every day of their lives. The very same society which begrudges Natives trapping for survival is the same society which pollutes the air and waters, upsets the ecological balance, rapes the land, builds bombs, practices cultural genocide and makes the poor poorer. Further, this is all done in the name of what? Self-interest, money.

This same society legalizes booze and condones the countless fatalities caused by wrestling, boxing, auto racing, high-speed planes and trains and many other methods that are responsible for the hundreds upon hundreds of deaths every year. And you self-righteous animal lovers have the audacity to utter the word "inhumane" or "unnecessary."

The sooner such do-gooders get their priorities straight, the sooner they might find some peace of mind. If they are truly concerned with life, they ought to jump on a different band wagon, one which decries the inhumanities of man against man and leave the trappers to doing what they must do. Take it from one who knos the harsh realism of having to survive from the resources of the land which our Creator wisely placed on this earth for that very purpose, animal activists have little if any conception of just how extreme the situation is.

What it all boils down to in the final analysis is the survival of the fittest. That is the rule of the animal kingdom and I have little sympathy for the protestors who, in their supposed wisdom, continue to conduct their witch hunts against trappers.

If the animal lovers cannot acknowledge and accept the validity of trapping by Natives so they do not have to starve or grovel to social services for welfare, then they must learn to live with that. If they cannot, they had best carry their own damn burden and quit trying to place it on the shoulders of the Native people.