Legitimate Reasons To Trap

The Department of Fish and Game has determined that the act of setting a trap solely for the purpose of protecting a person's health or safety or for preventing damage to the person’s property is unlawful. That's right, I said unlawful!'

According to the Department's understanding of the state's trapping statutes and regulations WCOs can legally only engage in trapping nuisance animals for only two reasons: to stop additional property damage once the damage has begun or to capture an animal after it has infected, injured or killed a person

IN MY OPINION, if there isn't a law already, there ought to be one that allows WCOs to apply their specialized knowledge and skills for the purpose of preventing animal attacks or preventing disease transmission to people or preventing animal damage on property before it happens whenever possible.

As wildlife control professionals we understand, and therefore can predict, animal behavior in certain situations. As they say, the best predictor of an animal's future behavior lies in understanding its past behavior. When a skunk lifts it tail we know what to expect next. When we observe raccoon prints on the ledge of the koi pond we know what to expect next. When we see the beaver gnawing on tree we know that a beaver dam will soon follow.

The DFG is charged with the responsibility to make sure ap[plicants can demonstrate a high proficiency in trapping before they are issued a license so why aren't we allowed to use our expertise for the public good by trying to prevent bad things from happening? The principle of "preemptive attack" is now establish as a legitimate course of action once an imminent threat is perceived so why does our state government allow wild animals the first bite?

The problem is twofold. The DFG has great difficulty thinking of trappers as anything other than fur-takers. Why on earth would a fur-trapper be trapping to protect the public or their property? Why would a recreational trapper have to act preemptively? The second reason is that DFG doesn't trust anyone threatening the state's natural resource. I guess they think we would go around fabricating reasons to trap nuisance animals.

Of course, not all fears of animal attacks or other dangers they present are rational. Sometimes people think irrationally and panic when see a mouse or bat in the house. Although their fear may be out of proportion to the actual threat, the person's feeling are quite real nonetheless. Our customers' discomfort or fear of a wild animal on their property or in their house is a sufficient reason for the trapping and removal of that animal. On the contrary, in spite of what others believe, WCOs do not acknowledge a wild animal's legal or moral right to be on that property or in that house.

Sections 4050 and 4080 of the California Fish and Game Code of Regulations should be amended to allow Wildlife Control Operators and other licensed trappers to employ their expertise for the purpose of eliminating or mitigating threats to human health and safety and/or avoiding or reducing damage to their property.