As people continue to expand and build into former wilderness areas, we’ll see more and more animal overpopulation problems. While this is certainly not a positive, it may provide opportunities for trappers.

For example, North Carolina is experiencing animal control problems in a number of growing areas. A recent article in The News & Observer, which is based in Raleigh, details the rising number of accounts from suburbanites who spot coyotes, foxes, bears, alligators and more. In Davidson County, in central North Carolina, fox populations are growing out of control and the Board of Commissioners is petitioning the General Assembly to allow fox trapping, which has been outlawed there since the 1970s. Coyotes are also posing a problem in the area and while coyote trapping is legal, trappers have not been able to avoid catching the overpopulated foxes.

Trapping is often portrayed in a negative light, but situations like those in North Carolina can provide trappers with a high-profile opportunity to show non-trappers that trapping is not only a humane and ethical practice when done correctly, but also that it is necessary to manage otherwise largely uncontrolled animal populations.