Deer season update. (loft, camps, live)

[tcrackly]

I, myself , am on the fence about fur trapping. I used to be against it until I realized that no manmade material is as warm. Then I was in favor of ranch raised only. I can now understand the need for regulated trapping for population control though I still believe those predatory critters serve more of a purpose in the ecology than most people realize.

I guess my main issue is that the bulk of the fur market is strictly for fashion's sake and for the consumption of those who have more money than they know what to do with.

I've been to one too many Boston operas where the rich patrons wore fur in July.

[arctichomesteader]

It is a pity...I trap and the only things that really make good money are fishers and bobcats right now. Beavers aren't too bad given how common they are but they're more work too.

Coyote fur can be nice, but most of them are diseased here (mange, usually). So maybe one out of a bunch will be any good.

Wildlife definately has to be managed. There's no true balance in Nature, just extremes of overpopulating, and then dying off, only to start over unless they go extinct. Some people just can't stomach the harsh reality of Nature.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by tcrackly

I, myself , am on the fence about fur trapping. I used to be against it until I realized that no manmade material is as warm. Then I was in favor of ranch raised only. I can now understand the need for regulated trapping for population control though I still believe those predatory critters serve more of a purpose in the ecology than most people realize.

I guess my main issue is that the bulk of the fur market is strictly for fashion's sake and for the consumption of those who have more money than they know what to do with.

I've been to one too many Boston operas where the rich patrons wore fur in July.

I'm not into fashion at all. But, as I see it, I'd prefer a renewable natural resource taken in a sustainable way is used than a synthetic made of petroleum when there's more important uses for the petroleum we still have than clothing.

[tcrackly]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

It is a pity...I trap and the only things that really make good money are fishers and bobcats right now. Beavers aren't too bad given how common they are but they're more work too.

Coyote fur can be nice, but most of them are diseased here (mange, usually). So maybe one out of a bunch will be any good.

Wildlife definately has to be managed. There's no true balance in Nature, just extremes of overpopulating, and then dying off, only to start over unless they go extinct. Some people just can't stomach the harsh reality of Nature.

That's the thing..that IS the balance: population highs and lows. We see it with the game animals we hunt. But ,you're right . It is hard for many to accept.

[tcrackly]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

I'm not into fashion at all. But, as I see it, I'd prefer a renewable natural resource taken in a sustainable way is used than a synthetic made of petroleum when there's more important uses for the petroleum we still have than clothing.

I bought a used fur coat once. It was my effort at recycling/reusing the animal's resource. It was the warmest coat I ever had before it finally fell apart. I can tell you the streets of Boston can be just as cold as any part of Maine when the icy winds funnel through the buildings!

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

Naaaa! When he got serious he took the 38-55.

But squirrels and 'possum were bigger then. Global warming has sapped their vital fluids resulting in smaller squirrels and 'possum.

Squirrels and opossum are smaller now due to Al Gore?

Darn it man, let a guy create the interent and the next thing suddenly our squirrels get smaller.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

I'm not into fashion at all. But, as I see it, I'd prefer a renewable natural resource taken in a sustainable way is used than a synthetic made of petroleum when there's more important uses for the petroleum we still have than clothing.

It all gets buried in our landfills anyway.

I much prefer this stuff all being natural materials too.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by tcrackly

That's the thing..that IS the balance: population highs and lows. We see it with the game animals we hunt. But ,you're right . It is hard for many to accept.

Sort of. Humans have always been a part of the equation and worked to make more prey animals available. For instance, up in parts of Alaska, for thousands of years, the Natives would find wolf pups in their dens and kill them, to control their population and protect the caribou.

[tcrackly]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Sort of. Humans have always been a part of the equation and worked to make more prey animals available. For instance, up in parts of Alaska, for thousands of years, the Natives would find wolf pups in their dens and kill them, to control their population and protect the caribou.

And they also have built into their spiritual belief system that wolf is the tool that keeps the caribou herd healthy by taking the sick, weak and the old.

[tankratt]

So who has bagged a nice Buck?