Column: Trapping season continues a long tradition

The trapping season that opened on Nov. 15 and runs through this month continues a tradition of one of the oldest sports known to man. A Gallup poll found that 63 precent of all Missourians agreeded with the statement, "Trapping is okay as long as it is carefully regulated." Most Missourians recognize that modern day trapping has many benefits for people and nature.

There are around 10,000 people in the state that trap.

Trapping in the state is carefully regulated. Wildlife laws only allow people to trap mammals that are common or abundant. These laws make sure that even though some annimals may be trapped evey year, their populations will remain healthy.

Back in the 80s there were more than 200 fur buyers in the state, but only about 30 remain. Bud Keller, Collins, is a buyer we visited with recently.

Keller said he has seen a lot of changes since he started buying furs.

Prices have hit highs and lows. "Prices aren't nearly as high as they were 30 years ago, but they are higher today than they were six or seven years ago," he said. Keller sends his furs to several places, mainly back east, but he has sent furs to Russia where the demand is much higher. "The various fur farms have flooded the market and that hurt the wild fur market. The supply was high and the demand was down and so the prices dropped and many buyers suffered," Keller said.

The 80-year-old Keller said he had seen the number of trappers in the are drop to just a few. While visiting with Keller, Doug Pyeatt, Osceola, dropped in with a one red fox and a gray fox he had trapped. The Osceola trapper has been trapping for 40 years and was glad there is a fur buyer nearby. "I have been trapping in the Osceola area for many years and have taken lots of different furbearers, but my favorite today is foxes," he said.

Two years ago, Keller bought more otters hides than anyone in the state, but today China, who was the top buyer, has stopped buying them.

One animal Keller has seen on the rise is the bobcat. "Last year, I bought 500 bobcats, 60 or 70 came out of Tennessee and about the same number came from Arkansas, but the rest of them came from right here in Missouri.

There are a lot more bobcats in the state than people think," he said.

Kellers Furs in Collins has been in bussiness for nearly 40 years and is one of the oldest fur receiving bussines in the state.

Although trapping goes on statewide today, northern sections of the state is more popular. Pyeatt said, "farmland trapping is easier than it is around our area in the Ozarks, but there are a lot of furbears right here including foxes, bobcat, coyote, racoons and we have plenty of opposums and skunks." I recall that when I was a youngster I knew several boys my age that trapped during the winter. I remember one of my friends father catching a couple of skunks from under their barn. His son became interested and wanted to do some trapping of his own. His dad was very cooperative and dug up a couple of old traps that he had around the farm. We started out to set them for skunks around the farm and set the traps in old woodchuck dens with no bait or lure.

Whe I look back on those days, I smile a little when I think of how crude our methods were. We did catch a few skunks, however as they were very pluntiful and they used the dens where the traps were set.

Tims getting a little fur was a big encouragement in more ways than one.

He enjoyed the sport and got some spending money which was much appreciated at the time. Timmy became somewhat of a hero among the neighboring boys.

The last time I talked to Timmy, he had caught 36 foxes, 11 racoons, 5 mink while using several traps during December.

Timmy said, "Lots of years have passed since I first set those old traps and caught a few skunks and I have trapped every season since, some years more than others, but I have made trapping my favorite sport ahead of fishing and hunting. For awhile my job in the city kept me from trapping very much and I get lonesome for more time on the old trapline. Trapping has really gotten into my blood and although today many people look down on my sport it gives me lots of enjoyment." OUTDOOR NOTES: The turkey seasons for 2008 have been set and hunters will have a season simular to last year. The spring gobbler season will open on April 21 and run for three weeks while the fall hunters will have the entire month of October to bag their birds. The Youth hunt for residents will be the weekend of April 12-13.

The Stockton Lake Ducks Unlimites Chapter will hold their annual banquet on Feb. 16 at eh Orleans Trail Convention Center syarting at 5:30 p.m. Among some of the items included in the auction will be Terry Redlin artwork, guns, carvings and numerous other items of interest to outdoors men and women.

The Kansas City Sportshowdrew anglers from Iowa that fish Stockton and Table Rock prior to the start of the show. This year Paul Kitchen, Des Moines, hooked an eight pound bass at Table Rock and caught a limit of big crappie from Stockton.