MAILBOX

Friday, January 25, 1991 ~ North Shore News - 7

Trapper | Focus on cruelty, not fur industry

explains
fur facts

Dear Editor:

I own a trapline in B.C.,
have been in the business for
nine years, and have completed
the Trapper Education Pro-
gram. Having read Lee Wat-
son’s letter to the editor in the
Sunday, Dec. 30, 1990 issue of
the News, I would like to point
out several inaccuracies:

¢ Possibly 80 per cent of
traps used today are designed
to kill instantly.

¢ Watson is presenting in-
correct information as faci.
Animals caught in live traps
are never clubbed or stomped
on. They are shot between the
eyes. 1 havz2 never heard of
anyone standing on an animal’s
chest to kill it.

© Watson’s statistics are
nonsense. For every 10
animals. no more than 10 per
cent are non-target animals,
with 85 per cent of those being
ravens and fiying squirrels.
Trappers do not cali any
animals ‘‘trash animals.’’ Set-
ting traps is time-consuming
and great care is taken not to
catch non-target animals.

*Watson is attemptiug to
perpetuate an-old myth. I have
Never witnessed any animal
chewing its own limbs off to
free itself. If traps are checked
regularly (as per regulations),
there should be no problems.

® **Ranch-raising”’ is exactly
equivalent to the beef, hog,
sheep, chicken or fish farming
industries. Does Watson pro-
pose to fight these too?

Trapping is a harvestable
and renewable resource that
employs a large number of
peopie in Canada. Perhaps Lee
Watson should spend more

time getting his facts straight.

Watson and similar over-
enthusiastic crusaders (most of
whom wear leather and eat
animal products) might help
the world more by directing
their energy to solving univer-
sal problems, rather than dic-
tating: to others on matters of
personal choice.

Sohn Fleishman
North Vancouver

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Dear Editor:

In the Mailbox section of the
Jan. 2 North Shore News the
animal rights activists have a field
day with Constantine Pappas.

If all the anti-fur crusaders are
vegetarians [ can ai least respect
their views, but not their selective
attacks. Chickens, pigs, sheep,

and cattle are not cute, so they
can be fattened up in captiv'ty like
the victims at a cannibals feast.
Fish, too, are caught and
slaughtered with great cruelty.
Would it be alright if we kept
mink, foxes, sables, and martens
on a ranch, used them for meat
and threw the fur away?

Men have always used animals

for many purposes other than
food — think of horsehide, raw-
hide, woo! and sheepskin.
Animals have also used men —
and sometimes women and
children —- for food, but did not
find their skins useful.

When you have persuaded hu-
manity to eschew the use of all
farms of animal life for any pur-

pose, you will then have the right
to complain about our use of furs.

In the meantime you would do
better to concentrate your efforts
on eliminating cruelty in kecping
and killing any form of animal
ife.

C.D.L. Dyke
West Vancouver

Fur profits don’t benefit native Canadians

Dear Editor:

I would like to compliment Lee
Watson for his concise summary
of the sufferings of all fur-bearing
animals inflicted by the fur trade.

I plan to send copies to my MP
and others asking why the federal
government is spending nearly $2

million to persuade the European
community not to ban the impor-
tation of furs.

The suggestion. that this is
essential for the indigenous peo-
ple’s way of life is ridiculous;
prior to the trading companies
they did not have leg-hold traps
nor trade in furs. Most of the

WV crosswalk ‘dangerous’

Dear Editor:

Yesterday, 1 watched in horror
2 man nearly get killed in the
crosswalk of 20th and Bellevue in
West Vancouver, just weeks since
Mr. Phelan was killed.

Cars coming up the sharp little
hill had stopped for the man who
proceeded to the centre. A truck
travelling east at a good clip just
carried right on to the crosswalk.

Thank God the man hesitated
— then went over to the driver to
shout at him that a man had just
died a month ago at the very spot.

The truck driver did not apolo-
gize for not stopping. He pro-

ceeded to shout obscenities.

"ve brought this matter up at
council meetings as more highrises
being built on 18th Street means
more traffic. Drivers can ‘make
time’’ on Bellevue as there are no
lights and no cops.

The crosswalk is dangerous — it
should be moved across the street.
Drivers cannot stop fast enough
up the short hill and they are right
on top of the crosswalk before
they can see it.

How many more must die be-
fore something is done?

June Vos
West Vancouver

profits go to the furriers, not the
few indigenous trappers.

Today, most people live in
heated homes, travel in heated
cars and planes and have no need
of furs. Even winter-sports en-
thusiasts prefer thinly insulated
clothing.

Why add to our enormous na-

tional debt supporting an unneed-
ed and cruel industry?

We should ban the feg-hold trap
immediately and either save nearly
$2 million or spend it saving
habitat and Canada’s good name.

June Cherry
West Vancouver

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