Both organizations have issued policy statements that strongly support the role commercial trapping plays in achieving wildlife management objectives. Harvest season length, bag limits, permissible size and types of traps, and total number of traps permissible per trapper, are all considered during the development of management strategies for individual species. Population growth characteristics of some species require strict harvest regulations that include bag limits and limiting the number of traps per individual. Conversely, harvest and population characteristics of other species require liberal regulations to meet prescribed furbearer management objectives. All wildlife populations possess inherent bio-feedback mechanisms that eventually limit population densities.
Most species can exhibit classic 'boom and bust cycles'.
When this occurs, competition for limited resources compromises the health of the entire population. Oftentimes, the health of the entire ecosystem including all aligned wildlife species and the public are also negatively impacted by these inflated furbearer populations. Regulated commercial trapping manages populations by moderating the extremes of 'boom and bust' cycles. This results in stable populations of healthy animals that are in balance with the biological carrying capacity of their ecosystems and the cultural carrying capacity accepted by the general public. Trapping is not useful in fighting wildlife diseases.