Baby beavers left to starve

[antlercarver]

The county is killing beavers that are plugging road culverts. I understand that the beavers need to be controlled. I have been trapping, snaring and shooting beavers for 60+ years, so know a little about them.
The issue now is the county is killing the beavers all summer long while the kits are being born and are left to starve.
Kill them during regular trapping season which is from fall to May 15. when the kits are big enough to live alone.
I don't like the idea of the kits starving to death.

[Pathfinder76]

They are trying to reduce the population.

[waldedw]

I am not a fan for having young animals stave to death either, but in my humble opinion when they need to be controlled because of damage sometimes there is "collateral damage" it goes with the territory, no different that shooting gophers, badgers or coyotes at this time of year, they all have young ones.

I do a lot of pest control for local farmers year round and have been doing it for 50+ years, when I'm in the pastures shooting gophers I will also take any badger or coyote that I can.

[antlercarver]

150 yds. from my house there is a beaver dam which was flooding my road to the field. Each time I opened up the dam. they fixed it the same night. I put a electric cattle fence wire 3 inches above the water by the dam and now for 2 years they will not bother the dam. Come fall time I will remove the beavers.

[Grizzly Adams1]

The way I look at it is, we have a dog and cat problem, shelters are beyond overflowing, yet people are still cranking out more as fast as they can, aggravating the problem. Mother nature is cruel, that's how she controls population numbers.

[Dewey Cox]

I'd better go spring all my mousetraps now, lest I catch a mouse with a family.

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

I'd better go spring all my mousetraps now, lest I catch a mouse with a family.

Ok that’s funny.

[Talking moose]

It’s a lot of work trapping beaver under the ice as opposed to sitting in a lawn chair next to a .22 mag and a nice little breeze to keep the mosquitos at bay.

[Blastoff]

Go ahead take them out way too many where I am at,

[riden]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

It’s a lot of work trapping beaver under the ice as opposed to sitting in a lawn chair next to a .22 mag and a nice little breeze to keep the mosquitos at bay.

A lawn chair

Wow, that's a fancy set up compared to mine!!!

[Dean2]

Nature is cruel, but it doesn't mean we need to be. Wolves start eating their food while it is still alive, are you proposing it is fine by you that humans do the same? Having respect and compassion for the things we hunt and kill is NOT a sign of weakness, it is a sign of a sentient and evolved being, though it appears not everyone has made that journey.

[Cement Bench]

what about cute little skunk babies if we do away with the parents ?

same thing boys and girls

in a perfect world we could regime

but we cannot just ask them to leave

don’t want to but destroying my creek bed and then having the county blow the dams and wash out my 2 8 foot diameter culverts was not a solution for me

keel dem all

[Pathfinder76]

Do we stop shooting gophers now? Because you will be killing nested young collaterally.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

Do we stop shooting gophers now? Because you will be killing nested young collaterally.

These things fall under pest control, not hunting, lest we forget.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

These things fall under pest control, not hunting, lest we forget.

And we need not conflate the two.

[KGB]

You don’t worry much when killing rats and mice, don’t you? Then just so you feel better- beaver is a rat, a giant rat!

[BuckCuller]

Originally Posted by antlercarver

The county is killing beavers that are plugging road culverts. I understand that the beavers need to be controlled. I have been trapping, snaring and shooting beavers for 60+ years, so know a little about them.
The issue now is the county is killing the beavers all summer long while the kits are being born and are left to starve.
Kill them during regular trapping season which is from fall to May 15. when the kits are big enough to live alone.
I don't like the idea of the kits starving to death.

My suggestion is the Beavers should stop plugging up culverts.
Then we will stop our assault on the Beavers.

[antlercarver]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

They are trying to reduce the population.

Kind of a Hitler attitude.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by antlercarver

Kind of a Hitler attitude.

Better stop shooting gophers as well.

[CBintheNorth]

Sounds like effective population control.

Kill 1, get 3 or 4.

Nothing in nature dies a pleasant death.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by antlercarver

Kind of a Hitler attitude.

Really? Hitler? Yea, this is exactly the same as genocide. Literal genocide. How inappropriate.

[Battle Rat]

Who would be willing to pay the additional tax to restrict the beaver killing to the trapping season?
That would not be efficient or reasonable to expect to apply seasons on nuisance wildlife control.

[roper1]

Originally Posted by Battle Rat

Who would be willing to pay the additional tax to restrict the beaver killing to the trapping season?
That would not be efficient or reasonable to expect to apply seasons on nuisance wildlife control.

True dat, to say nothing about the culvert plugged now, we'll just let it wash out the road & make the missus drive around until fall when the kits are grown.

[esher]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

Better stop shooting gophers as well.

And Norway rats.

[Vingiu]

Really don’t think it’s a good look for outdoorsmen to be disinterested in minimizing harm while managing wildlife. Collateral is inevitable, absolutely, but it’s worth learning how we could minimize it, no?

Just my two cents

[BuckCuller]

Originally Posted by Vingiu

Really don’t think it’s a good look for outdoorsmen to be disinterested in minimizing harm while managing wildlife. Collateral is inevitable, absolutely, but it’s worth learning how we could minimize it, no?

Just my two cents

What’s you suggestion for a solution?

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by BuckCuller

What’s you suggestion for a solution?

wait for the beavers to be big enough to cause a problem elsewhere!

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by antlercarver

Kind of a Hitler attitude.

I suppose you could strip down, dive in, and try nursing the little buggers yourself...



.... since you seem to be trying to start a sillyness contest here.

[WayneChristie]

I was fishing by a beaver lodge yesterday, got to watch an otter swim by then looked like it went into the lodge, so the kit problem for that spot is probably taken care of.

[antlercarver]

There is a animal protection act where violations are punishable by fines and confiscation. Poultry and other animal raising industries have laws to prevent suffering. Slaughter houses have laws to minimize suffering. The trappers have to use leg traps with rubber padded jaws, body grip traps are designed and tested for speed of kill, new improved snares have special features that lessen the time a animal is alive. Big game hunters are not allowed to use small calibers to minimize wounding and suffering. For a while barbless hooks were being used to allow less damage in catch and release.
I can bring up more examples but if these are not enough, more would be pointless.
There are many ways to get the desired results without causing unnecessary pain or starvation.
By allowing pain, wounding. suffering or starvation to get into the public media there will be more call to shut down some of our outdoor pursuits. There are many more voters who do not go off the pavement than there are people who do fish, hunt ect,
Some of us can not see the forest because the trees are in your way.