Beaver overpopulation the problem

The Whig Standard
Friday June 3 2011
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3152903


Re: "Beaver cull causes flap" (May 27). http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3143917

Beaver overpopulation the problem

You may not have to kill beavers to prevent road damage, yet you certainly must reduce their numbers to curtail beaver overpopulation problems.

Lesley Fox, executive director for the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, said that if (South Frontenac) township covers part of the travel costs they're willing to send an expert to educate council on other ways to prevent beaver dams from bursting and spilling water and debris over roads. My advice to council is save your money.

The problem here stems from overpopulation of beavers, therefore diverting the water to contain the size of the dam and subsequently the size of the pond will not address this overpopulation situation; in truth it will simply lead to more beavers, more dams, more flooding and more costs to the taxpayer.

You may be able to "save" beavers but you surely can't stockpile them. Fox has little knowledge of beaver biology, otherwise she would know that beavers couldn't live together in an overcrowded situation. Beavers multiply quite rapidly and are very territorial. Also, they send their 'two-year-olds' packing to find a home of their own ... if they try to return the parents will ultimately kill them.

Modern-day trappers are experts at efficiently managing beaver overpopulation situations and Fox suggesting that by calling in the professional trappers, municipalities would be giving them the nod toward "killing everything" is completely ridiculous.

Beavers populations are managed by annually harvesting the two-year-olds and are assigned quotas regulated and monitored by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The cost of harvesting beavers has increased dramatically yet the price of fur has not increased accordingly. Hence the $50 compensation simply gives trappers added incentive to increase their harvest.

Fox's notion that, "The days of trapping are over," surely would be extremely bad news for the municipality. Rather than fall for her group's irrelevant plan, to help save on cost (taxes) the municipality would be better off to promote the fur industry and encourage taxpaying residents to purchase a beaver coat. In turn this would increase the demand, the price for beaver fur and ultimately reduce the need to subsidize their nuisance beaver control.


Eldon Hawton
President and Founding Member, Friends of Fur North Bay