In this fascinating video from Fur Takers of America, wildlife biologists and trappers explain the reasons why trapping is necessary in today’s world and how it benefits wildlife populations.

“I think as sentient human beings we have a moral obligation to treat our environment and animals that are in it with moral wisdom.” David Hastings, trapper, Nebraska.

“The cruelest thing a human can do to a furbearing animal, or any game wildlife, is to fail to harvest their numbers and allow them to overpopulate.” Gary Jepson, trapper, North Dakota.

“A significant part of wildlife management is maintaining healthy populations of wildlife on a landscape, and you may think that that would imply not harvesting the animals, but in fact it’s necessary to harvest the animals. Trying to maintain a healthy population means actually keeping it in check, keeping it in balance with the landscape’s ability to sustain them.” Chris Bernier, wildlife biologist.

“The key tool we have today … When I say we, as folks who are trying to manage and protect and preserve our natural resources such as furbearers … is the users themselves, trappers. They’re a scientific tool on the landscape today.” Mark Scott, Director of Wildlife, Vermont.

“I don’t think anybody champions wildlife conservation with more interest and with more fervor than trappers do. … It’s really quite difficult to be an animal in the wild, and there’s lots of ways that animals die. They die from getting hit by cars, they die from predation, they die from disease, and trappers, who really care about animals actually take animals that would otherwise die of other means. And wildlife biologists and trappers alike care about the perpetuation of these wildlife populations because that’s really what’s important from the standpoint of ecosystem health.” Kimberly Royar, special projects biologist, Vermont.