In an industry like trapping there is usually very little attention drawn to the trappers themselves in a small community. And I'm not talking about the antis and economics of it but rather of the public presence.
You either know somebody who knows somebody or you remain completely oblivious to the fact that people in your community are trappers.
The older generation is retiring and the 2 or 3 generations younger that do pose interest in trapping come at it in a haphazzard way with nothing more than a basic course or an easily challengable test and a few hours of youtube videos. 80% (rough estimate) of whom don't last a season.
I feel that in order for the fur industry to thrive again (100 years ago) that a number of things need to happen. Animal pops need to be sustained (and they are, and monitored), a more indepth course with field experience should be properly introduced, (and manditory. No challenging of tests available) and finally 1 thing that the trapping community is capable of affecting directly, creating a "pairing" forum so the older generation can pass on years and years of experience to those who do wish to learn and thrive in the fur industry by developing over a course of a number of seasons what might otherwise take a lifetime to learn.
Every trade as old as the mountains has had a mentor / apprentice relationship. I think we need to start that again.
It would take effort from both parties (especially of the student who might have to travel farther than they would prefer), but I personally think that such a system could affect many things through the butterfly effect, including what we earn from our pelts at an auction house. Higher quantities of Canadian fur caught humanely by a larger trapper population (done by taking as many of those haphazards and educating them so they become successful and stick with it) could potentially upset the market for US pelts.
Thoughts, concerns or considerations?
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