November 23, 2017 by Matthew Brown

Fur trappers are asking a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit from wildlife advocates who want to block the export of bobcat pelts from the United States.

Attorneys for trapping organizations said in recent court filings that the lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service infringes on the authority of state and tribal governments to manage their wildlife.

The plaintiffs in the case allege the government's export program doesn't protect against the accidental trapping of imperiled species such as Canada lynx.

More than 30,000 bobcat pelts were exported in 2015, the most recent year for which data was available, according to wildlife officials. The pelts typically are used to make fur garments and accessories. Russia, China, Canada and Greece are top destinations, according to a trapping industry representative and government reports.

Federal officials in February concluded trapping bobcats and other animals did not have a significant impact on lynx populations.

The Fish and Wildlife Service regulates trade in animal and plant parts according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, which the U.S. ratified in 1975.

The advocates' lawsuit would "do away with the CITES export program," according to attorneys for the Fur Information Council of America, Montana Trappers Association and National Trappers Association.

"They are seeking to interfere with the way the States and Tribes manage their wildlife, by forcing them to limit, if not eliminate, the harvesting of the Furbearers and at the very least restrict the means by which trapping is conducted," attorneys Ira Kasdan and Gary Leistico wrote in their motion to dismiss the case.

Bobcats are not considered an endangered species. But the international trade in their pelts is regulated because they are "look-alikes" for other wildlife populations that are protected under U.S. law.

Critics of the government export program argue the government review completed in February did not look closely enough at how many lynx trappers inadvertently catch in traps set for bobcats or other furbearing species.

Pete Frost, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the fur industry's move to throw out the case "seeks to deprive citizens of their right to court review of the federal pelt export program."

Between 2.3 million and 3.6 million bobcats lived in the U.S., with populations that were stable or increasing in at least 40 states, according to a 2010 study from researchers at Cornell University and the University of Montana.

https://phys.org/news/2017-11-...uit-fur-exports.html

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Then this:

Bevy of bobcats: Thriving animals poised as next urban pest

May 22, 2017 by Michael Casey

As someone who has studied bobcats for almost four decades, wildlife ecologist John Litvaitis remembers many times returning from the field without spotting a single one of these solitary and shy creatures that often hunt at dusk.

But bobcats are less elusive now as their numbers rise and they become more comfortable around humans. Joining the likes of foxes, coyotes and even mountain lions in rare cases, bobcats are making a home in small towns and suburbs—and realizing there is plenty to eat in the cities.

They have turned up in recent years in such places as Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city; Waverly, Iowa; and outside Los Angeles. They have been spotted below backyard bird feeders, waltzing along streets in search of their next meal and, increasingly, as roadkill.

A website that Litvaitis set up to understand the bobcat rebound in New Hampshire features hundreds of amateur photographs —of a cat lounging on someone's lawn, another stalking a chipmunk, a third sitting contentedly after gobbling up a guinea fowl and peacock.

"They are back in New England and at least as abundant as they were 100 years ago, if not more," said Litvaitis, who conducted much of his research while at the University of New Hampshire. "They are adapting to a landscape that has changed. You have roads and people everywhere, and they have figured out how to get along with most of that."

The resurgence of Lynx rufus comes during a shift over the past several decades from treating bobcats as vermin to be exterminated to being considered a top predator worthy of protection.

In contrast with the 1970s, when 40 states had no bobcat protections and bounties were common, most now put strict limits on hunting and trapping bobcats. As many as eight, including New Hampshire, completely outlaw both.

The naturally bobtailed cats—as big as medium-sized dogs and known for brown or rust-colored fur with black and white spots on their bellies—also are benefiting from warmer Northeast winters that allow for easier hunting, as well as expansion of public lands that increased prey, including white-tailed deer.

Bobcat numbers have almost tripled nationwide since the 1980s to as many as 3.6 million, according to a 2010 study in the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, the most recent national survey.

"Bobcats have been a real success story in wildlife conservation in the past several decades. They are at the point now that they are growing or stable across their range," according to Nathan Roberts, a wildlife research scientist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources who co-authored the survey.

In New Hampshire, Litvaitis said, that is exactly what has happened.

He estimates bobcat numbers dropped to as low as 150 in the late 1980s, which prompted the state to ban hunting in 1989. Numbers have increased ever since. A University of New Hampshire/New Hampshire Fish and Game survey estimated their population in 2013 at 1,400.

The bobcat's success also reflects its ability to eat almost anything and thrive almost anywhere, from cornfields to swamps to suburban parks. With cottontail rabbits declining in New Hampshire, they shifted to preying on plentiful wild turkeys and squirrels.

"They are clever animals and creative animals," said Roberts, who has attached GPS collars to 60 bobcats in the past three years in Wisconsin. "We had one animal in particular in a small town that spent all of its time in town going from bird feeder to bird feeder."

Not everyone is rolling out the welcome mat.

In Massachusetts, police last month said they shot and killed a bobcat that had attacked two large dogs and was coming after officers. Farmers in New Hampshire have shot bobcats.

"Many people enjoy seeing them, but for others they are a nuisance," according to Patrick Tate, a wildlife biologist with New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. "Complaints about bobcats preying on domestic chickens have increased, requests from the public to trap and relocate bobcats have risen, and instances of road-killed bobcats have become common throughout the state."

Many states have considered reintroducing hunting and trapping to help regulate growing populations.

The New Hampshire proposal to offer 50 permits annually was withdrawn last year, over concerns that bobcat traps could ensnare Canada lynx, considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

In Illinois, however, hunting and trapping resumed last year.

"There has been a lot of conservation to get us back to this season," said Neal Graves, president of the Illinois Trappers Association. "It's something we haven't been able to do for 40 years."

https://phys.org/news/2017-05-...urban-pest.html#nRlv

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I don't think a lot of people trap muskrats, mink, weasels, etc like the old days. It was good money and an exciting outdoor activity that I looked forward to in the winter time from the age of 10 to 17.

Since I lived on the river, each spring you noticed the activity and where the dens and feeding areas were so it was a matter of a few well placed drowning sets. You always left a few for next years population and sometimes moved to another area to finish out the year.

The only downside was thief of your traps. Some years there were no problems and you always covered your trail and left little distributes so as someone could not find the placement of your traps.

I only had one real bad year towards the end of the season when someone was watching me check the traps and noted each place I stopped. The next day most of my traps were gone. I noted the tracks and was able to determine the direction the person had departed which was up river from the area I was trapping. I pulled up my remaining traps for the season.

A week or so later, I proceeded up river looking for signs of activity and it wasn't long before I found my traps plus a few more. Most were not even camouflaged and there was lots of activity along the bank so they were easy to find.

Did anyone else trap in their youth as a way to make side money?

Absolutely, trapping provided a steady source of beer and gas money through my high school years.

Well, if the hippies have their way, they'll follow what has happened to wolves, bears, and lions...too damned many of them, a significant danger to humans, and upending the ecosystem.

I wish these people would just leave shit alone.

I didn't do it in my youth and I spent most of my life hating the idea of trapping however I was exposed to it by some very knowledgeable people when I moved here to Alaska and I've since become very interested in it.

So far I've only got a few red foxes, beavers and some Alaskan hares but eventually I'd like to get something like a wolf or a wolverine.

For me it's just a hobby, I don't do it for money.

I'll side with the trappers. I did it in my youth, so much misinformation about trapping it would make your head spin.

Truth be known, many methods of trapping are more 'humane' than hunting.

We didn't have the Conibear traps back then which would have improved your success.

Some hardware stores carried traps but I got most of my supplies from O.L. Butcher in NY. I still have some of his catalogs. He also sold books on trapping.

I never used any of his scents but mostly placed my traps in runs and under water entrance holes.

I did trap several beavers behind the house to prevent damage to the trees when I was home from college one Christmas. The young ones weighted 21 pounds. My father later caught one of the adults.