Should Trapping be illegal?

     It is understandable to think trapping innocent creatures is horrible and that doing so is undesirable if not looked down upon.  Some people may even think of trapping as "cheating" when it comes to killing animals, but should it be illegal?

     In the 2016 election the state of Montana had a bill (I-177) on the ballot that was put forward to ban trapping in the state of Montana. The bill was not passed, which may be a good thing because the Fish and Game Department sets quotas and limits throughout the state in order to maintain and control the populations of different species of animals. Trappers help control these populations and contribute money towards game management, through buying licenses. 

     If trapping were banned, those animals would still need to be managed. The Fish and Game would have to hire new employees(on the taxpayers dime) to trap and/or poison  animals to maintain healthy  populations. If they had to resort to poisoning animals, this could lead to accidental poisoning of non target species, such as eagles and other non target predatory species.