This report caught my eye the other day and I’ve been looking at my finances ever since to see how many attempts to save beavers I can afford. I’d say I have a good decade to play with, and hey with a few gofundme campaigns maybe longer than that,
Up to a $50,000 fine or a year in jail for tampering with beaver traps
There are some serious consequences for messing with the beaver traps in Lamont County.According to the Wildlife Act, anyone caught interfering with the lawful hunting — including trapping — of wildlife by another person with the intention of preventing or impeding it may be charged with an offence.
“A person that is convicted through the courts is liable to a fine of up to $50,000 or they can be imprisoned for up to a year,” said Terry Eleniak, an agricultural fieldman with the county. “The biggest thing is we caution people not to take these traps lightly,” Eleniak added. “Even though they are within our proximity and our watercourses, people can get hurt if they tamper with them.”
You want me to take them seriously? Oh I do. Dead serious. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mess with one if I could or stick something in to trigger it.
When are we going to start charging beaver trappers with the expense of every salmon they killed by depriving smolt habitat and every mink and otter that would have been in the area for other trappers if they hadn’t killed the beavers? Not to mention all the expense of water the town had to purchase from another city because of the drought and the cost of all those farms wells going dry.
This could get expensive. I hope you brought your calculator.
