trappers licence Questions?

[bunnyhunter]

Hi, I was under the assumption , reading the regs that if you get a trappers licence you can only trap on a registered trap line OR private land?

is this true?
and is there much call for trapping on private land of "problem animals?"

am curious because I had a Newfoundland trappers licence ( um, like 9 years ago....) and you could trap on crown land with the licence.

thanks!
Jen

[Black Lab Hunter]

You have 2 choices for trapping licenses in Alberta... Registered and Resident. The Registered License qualifies you to trap on one of the 1200 or so Registered Trap Lines. These are typically on Crown land.... however these lines mostly already have a registered trapper who has the rights to trap on this land. From my experience there are two ways to gain access to the Registered Lines... 1 become a junior partner and essentially apprentice with the Senior until they decide not to hold a license anymore and hopfully you will be the one that they pass the rights on to. The second option is to buy the assets of the trappers line and with it the license to trap that line. The lines are not actually for sale.... just the assets. There is a bit of debate as to whether or not the current system is working well. There is not requirement from the trapper to produce a quota or even prove that they worked on the line.
The Residential Trappers License allows you to set traps and snares on private land only. There is a limited number of animals that can be trapped ie coyotes, fox, beaver etc.... no martin, fisher etc. You need permission from the land owner to trap and of course there are some courtesies that you should extend to the farm neighbours if you are hanging wire or setting traps in order to reduce accidental catches of neighbouring dogs etc.
Contact Jim Mitchell at the Alberta Trappers Association in Westlock and he can help you find the nearest trappers education course... which you will need if you want to get a trappers license in Alberta.
Good Luck

[wwbirds]

sounds about right. Not many trappers looking to trap private land anymore so you shouldn't have any problems. You need landowners to sign a consent to trap form for you including the legal description of all the land they authorize you to trap on and you need to carry those consents with you while trapping or checking traps.

[bunnyhunter]

thanks for the clarification and info, I may consider a Resident licence, as I did it at a hobby level, not for a living.
Jen

[NCC]

You don't need to take a course for a resident trapper license; you just need to write and pass the test. There is a book you can buy from F and W that will help you prepare for the test.

From what I've heard, the course is excellent and covers most parts of trapping from buying and setting traps to preparing and selling fur.