Bill would constitutionally protect trapping

Protecting Montanans’ right to trap wildlife could just take a few word changes in the Montana Constitution, the Montana  House Fish, Wildlife and Parks committee learned during a Jan. 20 hearing in Helena.

House Bill 212 “simply adds the word ‘harvest’ and puts it into the statute that governs fishing and hunting and trapping,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kirk Wagoner, R-Montana City, said. The proposed bill drew equal measures of support and opposition during the hearing.

Hunting and fishing became protected rights under the Montana Constitution following passage of a 2004 ballot measure that garnered 80 percent of the state’s voters.

Former state Sen. Joe Balyeat said he believes the intent of the constitutional amendment was always to include trapping.

Numerous members of the trapping community, including the Montana Trappers Association, along with representatives from the Montana Farm Bureau and Montana Stockgrowers, supported HB 212.

Opponents argued that trapping is not like hunting because there’s no fair chase and it’s done for monetary compensation. They also expressed concerns about where traps are placed, noting that recreationists and dogs can get ensnared along trails.